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1 

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1 

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6 

MICRCKOPY    RESOLUTION    TEST   CHART 

lANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No    2) 


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I  2.2 

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^  .APPLIED  IM^GE 

^T".  '653   Cost   Uai-y   Slreel 

~.a  Rochester,   Ne«   Y.^rk         14609       USA 

—  v'l6)   482  -  0300  -  Phone 

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MEN  WHO  SELL 
THINGS 


WAIlttK  IX'MOODY 


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Who  Sell  Things 


Men 

Who  Sell  Things 


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Observations  and  Experiknces  of  Over 

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I 


Dedicated  to 

The  Commercial  Ambassador 

"The  Man  Who  Sells  Things' 


^i 


Foreword 


THIS  book  is  an  attempt  to  specify  the  qualifi- 
cations necessary  to  the  making  of  a  successful 
salesman  and  the  reasons  for  so  many  failures  in  the 
greatest  profession  on  earth,  the  profession  of  sales- 
manship. 

I  wish  to  write,  not  of  the  doctrine  of  luck, 
"chance,"  and  "good  fortune,"  but  of  the  doctrine 
of  effort  and  result;  to  proclaim  that  highest  form 
of  twentieth-century  salesmanship  which  brings 
success,  not  to  the  indolent,  the  improvident,  and 
the  dreamer,  but  to  the  striving,  the  intelligent, 
and  the  busy  man. 

When  a  man  has  taken  the  "third  degree"  in 
the  science  of  salesmanship,  has  put  finishing  touches 
on  a  career  of  strapping  and  unstrapping  cases  in  hot 
Summers  and  chilly  Winters,  has  taken  a  course  in 
hard  knocks  at  the  College  of  Give-and-Take;  after 
he   has   been   frappied  by   below-zero   receptions; 
after  he  has  simmered  in  the  caldron  of  competi- 
tion;   after  he  has  set  his  foot  on  the  path  that 
leads  to  the  summit  of  the  mountain  peak  Success; 
after  he  has  taken  his  post-graduate  training  in  see- 
ing Hope  deferred,- 1  believe  he  should  have  the 
degree  of  Commercial  Ambassador  brought  to  him 

[vii] 


'i 


•!vx.r..e 


f^oreword 

on  a  golden  salver,  for  he  is  now  a  professor  in  the 
gentle  arts  of  Peace  and  Plenty. 

If  you  will  recall  the  definition  of  Ambassador 
as  set  down  in  the  dictionaries,  it  signifies  an  envoy 
of  the  highest  rank  sent  by  one  government  to 
another  for  the  advantage  of  both.  If  there  is 
anybody  in  the  world  who  knows  more  about 
diplomacy  than  the  men  who  sell  things,  knows 
more  of  dexterity,  skill,  and  tact,  more  of  the  art 
of  conducting  negotiations,  I  will  cheerfully  waive 
the  title  of  Ambassador  and  return  to  those  of 
Travelling  Man  and  Drummer. 

But,  even  then,  is  not  every  salesman  worthy 
the  name,  an  envoy  of  the  highest  rank  sent  by  one 
house  to  another? 

Herald,  then,  the  Commercial  Ambassador! 
He  is  the  herald  and  harbinger  of  the  good  things 
in  the  world  —  all  of  them.  When  he  stops  bump- 
ing the  ties  hotels  will  hang  out  "To  Let"  signs, 
railroads  will  have  salt-watered  stock,  and  store- 
keepers everv^vhere  will  raise  cobwebs  in  their  shop- 
windows.  He  keeps  going  —  and  he  keeps  all  the 
rest  going.  He  is  the  Ambassador  Extraordinary 
and  Plenipotentiary. 

What,  then,  of  the  man  who  sends  back  the 
Ambassador's  card  by  an  office-boy,  who  turns  his 
back  upon  him,  who  curtly  refuses  him  a  look-in  ? 
Such  a  man  fails  absolutely  to  safeguard  the  interests 

[viii] 


Foreword 

of  his  customers,  proves  him  ignorant  of  hiis  own 
welfare,  and  into  the  bargain  cheats  himself  out  of 
the  rich  storehouse  of  knowledge  that  can  be  entered 
only  through  the  magic  key  intrusted  to  the  Com- 
mercial Ambassador  —  that  daily  reviewer  of  tht 
results  of  human  endeavor  of  everj'  sort,  from  des- 
perate failure  to  brilliant  success.  Hoch  der  Ambas- 
sador! It  is  to  him  and  for  him  that  I  have  written 
this  book. 


[ix] 


:JimMSMm!m 


Contents 


Chaftrr 

PAQI 

I. 

The  New  Era 

IS 

II. 

Pi-re  Grit 

86 

III. 

The  Knocker 

44 

IV. 

The  Order-Taker      .         .         .         • 

57 

V. 

The  Fussy  or  Over- Anxious  Salesman 

70 

VI. 

The  Wheelbarrow  Salesman 

95 

VII. 

The  Know-It-AU  Salesman 

111 

VIII. 

The  Quick-Tempered  Salesman  . 

117 

IX. 

The  Sky-.Uocket  Salesman 

125 

X. 

The  All-Head-and-No-Soul  Salesman 

136 

XI. 

The  Old-Time.- 

:45 

XII. 

The  Right  Kind  of  Salesman      . 

158 

XIII. 

The  Mind  as  a  Magnet 

181 

XIV. 

Specializing  Effc.ts   . 

188 

XV 

Letters  to  the  Trade 

.       203 

XVI. 

Getting  the  Price 

.       213 

XVII. 

Dress  and  Orderliness 

.        229 

XVIII. 

Retail  Salesmen 

240 

XIX. 

The  Salesman's  Relation  to  Credits 

260 

XX. 

The  Salesman's  Relation  to  the  Buye 

r       272 

XXI. 

The  Sales  Manager   . 

281 

XXTT. 

Getting  an  Interest  in  the  Business 

287 

XXIII. 

The  Employer 

.       296 

[xi] 


msmsasi'^^i 


!^ssm£:-:^'^mm^^M^MiiM^. 


.  I 


m\]S^'T^e^ : 


g^ir^^jri^;  '^(^  -  ■  ■iritr^^'i:ntft-^ 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 


CHAPTER    I 

THE   NEW  ERA 

The    salesman    regularly  supplies   the    electric 
spark  which  keeps  the  commercial  engine  going. 

ALL  the  markets  of  the  world  are  built  on  sales- 
manship. The  world  of  commerce  goes  on 
salesmanship;  now  fast,  now  slow;  plodding  here, 
bounding  there  —  but  whatever  its  pace,  whatever 
its  attainment,  it  is  going  on  salesmanship. 

Every  salesman  is  a  market  builder,  and  every 
market  builder  is  a  world  mover. 

The  commercial  institutions  of  the  earth  are 
the  monuments  to  the  genius  of  salesmanship  that 

all  men  know. 

The  salesmanship  that  builds  these  monuments 
is  the  high  expression  of  tireless  eflForts,  tJie  acquired 
skill,  and  the  intellectual  strength  of  the  men  who 
sell  things  —  the  salesmen. 

The  commonplace  salesman  who  is  content  with 
c  mediocre  degree  of  success,  who  lacks  either  desire 
or  power  to  labor  for  the  best  that  his  profession 
contains,  is  little  worthy  of  the  name  "  salesman." 

Work  of  the  type  most  needed  in  the  field  of 
salesmanship  is  the  successful  carrying  out  of  that 
which  reflects  the  most  credit  upon  the  profession. 

[13] 


1 


if 

'i 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

Little  that  is  worth  having  is  secured  in  this 
world  except  by  unceasing  toil.  The  salesman  must 
be  glad  to  do  a  salesman's  work. 

"  Few  battles  are  ever  finally  won.  There  are 
always  positions  to  be  held  and  new  ones  to  be  con- 
quered." 

The  enormous  pressure  of  new  business  and 
the  constant  tightening  of  competition  seem  to  crush 
out  the  hope  and  energy  of  a  large  proportion  of 
salesmen.  The  great  problem  of  modem  business 
progress  to  the  salesman  is  how  to  deal  with  tliis 
tendency,—  how  to  prevent  being  crushed  out  and 
shoved  to  one  side  in  the  mad  commercial  whirl 
for  conquest. 

The  well-rounded  salesman  who  has  husbanded 
his  strength  for  the  onrush  will  find  -.  ods  to 
preserve  his  talent  and  energy  from  deca^  The 
preservation  will  come,  not  through  boasting  or 
through  the  acquisition  of  new  territoiy  and  accounts, 
nor  through  the  magnification  of  past  achievements, 
but  through  the  natural  law  of  infinite  patience, 
constant  study  of  new  conditions,  clearer  adaptation 
of  means  to  ends,  infinite  devotion  to  instant  duty, 
and  absolute  fidelity  to  his  house  as  it  is  and  yet 
may  be. 

There  can  be  no  more  accepted  time  than  the 
present  as  the  arena  of  this  action.  The  success  of 
the  efficient  salesman  will  be  ^-^reater  in  proportion 

[li] 


The  New  Era 

to  the  number  of  those  who  are  yet  unaware  of 
the  changing  times  and  the  growing  feeling  that 
professional  salesmanship  must  supersede  the  old 
school  of  unorganized  ways  and  methods. 

The  crowding  of  the  field  of  salesmanship,  and 
the  exhaustion  of  old-time  resources  in  the  art  of 
selling  goods,  have  forced  a  revolution  in  this  special 
branch  of  industry.  The  pressure  of  business 
intensified,  manufacturers  and  merchants  who  em- 
ploy large  forces  of  travelling  salesmen  are  looking 
for  a  nev/  degree  of  greatness  in  salesmanship 
based  on  scientific  methods. 

More  zealous  care  is  needed  that  no  talent  may 
be  neglected,  that  employers  may  not  constantly 
be  obliged  to  seek  outside  forces  with  which  to 
replenish  their  depleted  sales  ranks. 

The  successful  salesman  will  not  lose  his  char- 
acter. His  proud  claim  of  leadership  on  the  sales 
force  of  his  house  will  not  pass  into  the  hands  of 
others  if  he  recognizes  the  fact  that  his  first  duty  to 
himself,  and  his  highest  duty  to  his  house,  is  to  have 
his  ship  constantly  cleared  for  the  action  of  the 
present  strenuous  day,  and  to  be  prepared  for  the 
coming  era  of  unparalleled  commercial  activity. 

To  the  twentieth-century  salesman  it  is  of  the 
utmost  moment  to  look  at  coming  conditions  and 
make  sure  the  defence  of  his  selling  methods  against 
the  creeping  foe  lurking  behind  commonplace  ways, 

1 15  J 


i 


"^■h&M- 


^^./:/*. 


.  ( 


It 


[i 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

—  the  foe  that  only  newer,  better,  and  quicker 
methods  can  halt  in  his  conquest  of  the  indolent, 
the  over-anxious,  the  old-timer  and  all  other  types 
of  negative  salesmen  that  go  to  make  up  the  vast 
crowd  of  the  improvident  and  unwise. 

A  salesman  of  experience  realizes  that  ideas  — 
practical  methods  of  seUing  goods  —  are  of  the 
greatest  value,  ami  he  also  knows  that  it  pays  him 
to  search  for  them.  It  takes  brnins  to  influence 
brains.  Some  one  has  said:  "For  every  ten 
dollars  that  a  high-salaried  man  draws,  he  gets 
nin  dollars  for  what  he  knows  and  one  dollar  for 
what  >ie  does." 

The  same  old  way  of  doing  things  cannot  be 
successfully  employed  month  after  month  and  year 
after  year.  The  salesman  must  be  modem  —  up  to 
date  —  as  much  as  the  men  of  other  professions. 
The  physician  or  lawyer  finds  that  to  compete  suc- 
cessfully he  is  compelled  to  read,  read,  read,  all  the 
time,  in  order  that  he  may  learn  of  advancement  in 
treatments  or  procedures. 

"To  the  man  who  fails  b  .he  excuses." 

The  more  good  ideas,  the  better  iiie  basis  for  good 
work.  The  best  of  salesmen  fail  at  times  to  sell  to 
certain  buyers,  without  being  able  to  give  a  reason 
for  failing  down.  The  methods  employed  suc- 
cessfully for  many  years  seem  to  count  for  nothing. 
In  such  cases,  no  doubt,  a  verj'  little  thing,  a  mere 

fl6] 


ur  -m 


f 


The  New  Era 


To 

II    one  !■ 
lie-     in 


of 


oversight,  perchance,  has  caused  the  t 
locate  the  "nigger  in   the  wood-stac! 
methods    means    much.    The   only   1 
putting  the  plumb-line  of  the  expem- 
beside  one's  own. 

Every  new  idea  aids  in  the  salesn  w's  ulti 
triumph  — adds   a  sound  piece  of     iiub. 
structure  of  liis  final  success. 

Failure  does   not   come   throv        mak 
takes,  but  in  refusing  to  learn  hj  mistuh     ' 
avoid  them. 

Experience  is  a  good  teacher,  but  it  i<  a 
thing  to  be  able  to  learn  from  the  experi«-B**  -f 
others,  for  we  cannot  all  have  the  same  exptn  -nces 
or  the  same  view  of  similar  experiences.  There 
are  many  pathways  to  success,  but  the  road  of  the 
individual's  experience  is  narrow  and  ruggcu. 

The  old-time  "minstrel"  travelling  man  is  a 
thing  of  the  past,  and  with  him  have  gone  the  days 
of  getting  business  by  means  of  circus  tricks,  chi- 
canery, and  sleight-of-hand  performances  in  tact. 
True  knowledge  property  applied  is  the  power  behind 
the  throne  winning  the  big  business  of  to-day. 

That  vast  army  of  business-getten  known  as 
travelling  salesmen  have  attained  a  dignity  fitted  to 
promote  the  interests  of  their  houses  in  the  field, 
realizing  that  scientific  methods  have  placed  their 
'.  jcation  in  the  list  of  projesnionx. 

[17] 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

The  real  purpose,  cliaructer,  calibre,  and  life 
of  the  commercial  traveller  have  too  long  been  de- 
preciated by  the  general  public.  lie  may  be  suffer- 
ing in  this  respect  for  the  sins  of  his  forefathers  on 
the  road;  but  things  have  changed.  No  one  1ms  a 
right  to  look  upon  any  phase  or  spherr  of  American 
manhood  as  subject-matter  for  a  joke-book,  and 
the  travelling  salesman  is  becoming  very  tin  ",  and 
justly  so,  of  being  regarded  as  a  fivc-rii.g  circus,  or 
a  wild  beast  going  about  seeking  who^  he  may 
devour. 

True,  the  law  of  "the  survival  of  the  fittest" 
has  caused  business  on  the  road  to  become  a  con- 
test of  wits;  but  it  is  also  true  that  the  travelling 
salesman  has  elevated  himself  and  his  work  by  force 
of  character  and  dint  of  his  own  energies. 

Many  writers  on  matters  pertaining  to  sales- 
manship have  not  yet  discovered  the  real  character 
and  work  of  road  salesmen.  We  are  looking  to  a 
higher  and  better  sphere  of  usefulness  in  the  business 
and  social  world  than  much  of  the  stuff  written  to 
portray  real  road  life  would  indicate. 

"  John  Henry,"  "  It 's  Up  to  You,"  and  other 
modern  compilations  are  side  issues  compared  to 
the  vernacular  of  the  road  as  ser\'ed  up  by  some 
writers  in  object-lesson  style  to  attract  the  attention 
of  salesmen  as  a  guise  for  a  course  in  salesmanship. 

The  salesman  who  regards  his  work  from  a 
[18] 


The  New  Era 

serious,  high-grade  standpoint  is  constantly  s-Mjking 
instruction  of  a  meritorious  nature  —  new  ways 
and  methods,  lie  docs  not  want  stories  of  road  life 
veneered  in  the  coarsest  slang,  all  tending  to  assign 
to  him  a  serio-comic  rolo. 

What  the  world  of  saLsmannhip  wants  is  edu- 
cated cnthimasm.  The  purest  of  king's  English 
will  secure  an  audience  and  hold  attention  for  the 
salesman  an}'where,  while  shmg  and  short  cuts  t)f 
speech  often  excite  distrust  und  offend  the  ear  of  the 
truly  refined.  The  field  is  ripe  for  educated  .sales- 
men,—  the  sort  that  refuse  to  give  their  customers 
credit  for  knowing  more  about  their  business  than 
they  know  themselves, —  salesmen  who  ^an  go  out 
and  put  up  a  .selling-talk  that  is  earnest,  logical, 
and  clean-cut  from  the  time  they  .strike  one  to  a 
until  the  train  carries  them  to  the  next  with  their 
pockets  full  of  orders. 

The  (juestion  of  handling  a  customer  in  making 
u  sale  is  naturally  a  local  issue  to  some  extent,  as 
merchants  in  widely  separated  localities  conduct 
their  business  according  to  the  usages  of  their 
particular  sections. 

It  is  also  true  that  dealers  in  small  towns  re- 
•juire  different  tactics  from  the  large  city  merchant 
but  no  matter  what  the  condition       ay  be,  the  olu 
saying.   "Business  is  business,"  holds  true  pretty 
much  the  world  over. 

[1!)] 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

With  the  arrival  of  interurban  electric  care 
and  rural  free  deliveries  and  telephones  and  many 
other  improvements  in  rural  districts,  a  pace  of  pro- 
gression has  set  in,  even  in  the  most  out-of-the-way 
village,  that  is  rapidly  changing  the  ideas  and 
methods  of  the  country  merchant.  With  the  farmer 
buying  automobiles,  and  the  prosperous  small- 
town business  man  sending  his  sons  off  to  college, 
it  is  high  time  for  the  travelling  salesman  to  begin 
to  realize  that  a  new  era  is  dawning  for  him  also. 

It  is  no  longer  necessary  in  making  a  town  to 
begin  the  day  before  by  planning  some  new  and 
wonderful  strategy  that  will  insure  the  selling  of  a 
bill  to  this  or  that  customer;  no  need  of  a  "  Samantha 
Allen"  visit,  with  a  dance  at  the  village  hall  in  the 
evening  with  your  favorite  customers  friends  and 

family. 

Tact  ?  Why,  yes,  that  is  necessary,  of  course. 
You  can  no  more  interest  the  man  whose  store  has 
just  been  robbed,  or  whose  head  salesman  has  just 
left  to  take  a  position  with  his  worst  competitor, 
now  than  you  could  twenty  years  ago.  But  you 
can  approach  the  merchant  the  country  over,  small 
town  or  large,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  and 
gain  and  hold  his  attention  ^^-ith  the  right  kind  of 
selling-talk,  all  on  business  and  delivered  straight 
from  the  shoulder.  Even  the  "  bef ore-breakfast 
grouch"  will  listen   to  you  if  there  is  a  resolute 

[20] 


mm 


■ 


The  New  Era 


in 


ring  in  your  voice  and  a  good-natured    sparkle 

your  eye. 

One  of  the  most  successful  business  men  of  my 
acquaintance  started  life  with  a  shoestring,  and 
worked  his  way  up  from  stock-boy  to  salesman, 
from  salesman  to  buyer,  from  buyer  to  the  head  of 
the  greatest  house  in  the  world  in  his  line,  besides 
holding  large  outside  responsibilities. 

The  most  prominent  feature  of  his  character 
was  his  remarkable  earnestness  of  purpose.    There 
was  not  a  salesman  in  the  long  list  of  those  in  his 
employ  who  could  begin  to  approach  him  in  selling- 
talk,  and  he  had  some  of  the  best  men  in  the  busi- 
ness.    As  buyer,  before  he  became  an  employer,  it 
is  said  of  him  that  he  could  take  prospective  cus- 
tomers into  his  office  for  fifteen  minutes,  from  among 
the  largest  and  hardest  merchants  to  sell  to  in  the 
country,  and  turn  them  out  with  an  immediate  and 
enthusiastic  desire  to  go  through  the  great  establish- 
ment and  select  goods. 

He  had  no  time  to  bandy  idle  words,  and  rarely 
indulged  in  useless  sentences  or  light  remarks.  He 
believed  buyers  came  into  his  store  bent  on  business; 
and  he  despatched  them  with  courtesy,  backed  up 
by  arguments,  everj'  word  of  which  put  new  ideas 
into  his  customci-s'  minds  and  helped  to  swell  the 
accounts  on  the  right  side  of  his  ledgers. 

Basing  my  calculations  on  actual  experience 
[21] 


!l 


/^:^^.s^'£:::^^ms^i^'yv',  '^mm^^MmmmM^'m 


r' '.''. 


?! 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

with  a  large  number  of  salesmen  of  all  classes,  sorts, 
and  conditions,  I  assert  without  any  hesitation  that 
the  really  big  men,  those  who  have  made  the  pro- 
fession worth  while,  are  the  ones  who  have  employed 
the  highest  degree  of  science  in  their  work, —  not 
an  acquired  science,  perhaps,  but  a  natural,  estab- 
lished, and  classified  knowledge  of  men  and  things 
relating  to  the  daily  routine  of  their  work: 

"  Brain  stuff  and  soul  stuff.'' 

I  am  not  the  one  to  gainsay  that  an  acquired 
science  of  professional  salesmanship  will  be  generally 
recognized  by  employers  of  large  numbers  of  sales- 
men within  the  next  five  or  ten  years,  in  fact,  an 
exact  science  of  successful  salesmanship  has  already 
been  formulated,  and  is  being  taught  with  success; 
it  fits  the  needs  of  our  profession,  just  as  the  science 
of  law  or  of  materia  medica  fits  the  requirements  of 
those  respective  professions,  and  is  receiving  wide- 
spread attention  on  the  part  of  thinking  salesmen  and 
employers  of  salesmen. 

Failures  may  be  due  to  lack  of  natural  ability, 
or  adaptability,  but  they  are  more  often  due  to  lack  of 
intelligent  application. 

There  are  many  industrious  salesmen  who  have 
always  applied  their  energies  in  commonplace  ways, 
—  for  instance,  with  territories  tliat  could  easily  !)e 
made  to  yield  nmch  larger  returns  from  their  labor, — 
who  have  little  idea  of  the  great  values  that  may  be 


^m^Y^^^m 


The  New  Era 

produced  on  a  given  territory  subject  to  high  culture 
in  salesmanship. 

There  is  a  natural  tendency,  when  big  sales  are 
made  by  the  really  successful  men,  to  suppose  that 
they  are  peculiar  to  some  distant  or  especially  favored 
location,  that  the  golden  harvest,  the  good  things,  are 
away  off  somewhere  else,  in  the  other  fellow's  ter- 
ritory.   Those  failing  to  see  advantages  at  home, 
who  are  disposed  to  seek  the  gold  at  the  rainbow's 
end,  may  well  ponder  the  story  of  the  old  Persian 
who  sold  his  little  hillside  farm,  wandered  far  over 
land  and  sea  in  a  vain  search  for  diamonds,  and 
finallv  died  a  pauper  in  a  strange  land;   while  the 
stranger  watering  his  flock  at  the  stream  on  the  little 
farm  found  a  peculiar  pebble  glittering  in  the  brook, 
which  proved  to  be  the  first  of  a  wealth  of  gems  such 
as  the  old  man  had  gone  to  seek. 

All  salesmen  start  with  an  equal  chance,  but 
many  are  soon  distanced  in  the  race.  They  are  con- 
tent \,ith  a  steady,  plodding,  uniform  way  of  doing 
things,  and  while  they  are  methodical  and  obtain 
good  results,  those  who  win  figure  out  some  way  of 
getting  better  results  and  getting  them  more  easily. 
They  take  chances  on  doing  things  in  other  than  the 
prescribed  way,  often  finding  the  new  way  the  better. 
Few  have  the  energy  to  break  out  antl  get  away  into 
the  wide  fields  of  effort  worth  while. 

We  get  into  a  certain  circular  routine,  and  we  go 
[23] 


Meji  Who  Sell  Things- 

around  and  arouDd,  week  in  and  week  out,  year  in 
and  year  out,  not  realizing  that  life's  really  important 
work  is  the  doing  of  something  new. 

The  opportunities  of  the  present  are  vastly 
superior  to  the  opportunities  of  the  last  two  or  three 
decades.  The  needs  of  our  great  commercial  ma- 
chine multiply  with  its  growth;  and  he  is  the  for- 
tunate salesman  who  has  learned  the  immense  value 
of  educated  enthusiasm,  for  to  him  is  open  the  pathway 
to  high-salaried  positions  that  appear  as  dreams  of 
Aladdin's  Cave  to  his  less  ambitious  brother. 

True,  the  mountain  seems  high,  but  he  who 
finds  the  right  road  will  surely  get  to  the  top.  Every 
mountain  seems  insurmountable  at  first,  but  little  by 
little  the  distance  is  laid  behind,  and  at  last,  half 
wondering  whether  it  is  a  mountain  after  all,  we  find 
ourselves  at  the  top.  But  to  find  the  easy  ascent  to 
tlie  golden  mountain  of  salesmanship,  the  salesman 
must  first  dig,  dig,  dig,  deep  in  the  fields  of  knowl- 
edge of  liis  profession. 

^.uccessful  salesmanship   carries  with  it  large 

.es  —  often  ' '"  from  five  to  fifteen  thousand 
dullars  por  annum.  "  Oh !  bu*-  such  salaries  a^e  not 
for  me,"'  wails  the  timorous  one.  Listen !  The  sales- 
man who  lies  down  at  the  beginning  with,  "  Oh,  I 
never  had  any  luck.  By  the  time  I  get  there  I'll  find 
some  one  else  already  there  ahead  of  me,"  would 
better  stay  out  of  the  salesmanship  business, —  oi 

124] 


^_^ 


■\JCy 


The  New  Era 

any  other  kind  of  business,  for  that  tutitt^r.  He  is 
of  little  faith,  a  pessimist,  a  failure  at  heart  to  begin 
with,  and  wouldn't  hold  a  position  long  with  any 
house  at  a  thousand  dollars  per  year,  to  say  nothing 

of  five. 

To  the  bright  salesman  it  is  not  a  difficult  task 
to  map  out  a  promising  line  of  action  for  his  career  on 
the  road  from  among  the  failures  and  middleweighls, 
and  a  persevering  hustle  will  do  the  rest. 

A  shrewd,  perceptive  faculty,  together  with  a 
convincing  perseverance,  is  one  of  the  main  essentials 
to  success  in  promoting  any  enterprise. 

Away  with  easy-going,  roUicking  ways  and 
debauching  influences!  Away  with  small  salaries, 
"water-tank"  towns,  and  "one-night  stands '!  Let 
there  be  more  lucrative  fields  and  broader  knowl- 
edge! that  is  the  twentieth-century  salesman's 
slogan;  and  that  he  is  manfully  living  up  to  his 
battle-cry,  the  pay-rolls  of  large  institutions  all  over 
this  broad  land  will  attest. 


'A 


i5] 


■5z?^*i^l-  .M\{1^mJ'*^. 


i 


fi 


¥ 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 


CHAPTER  II 

PURE   GRIT 

He  wlio  sleeps  beneath  the  fruit  tree  must, 
he  contented  with  windfails.  Tfie  one  who 
climbs  the  ladder  plucks  the  choicest  fruit. 

PURE  Grit  constitutes  one  of  the  most  essential 
elements  of  successful  salesmanship.  It  is  the 
best  there  is  in  a  man;  it  is  that  fine  quality  that 
whispers  in  our  ear  in  moments  of  discouragement, 
"Never  lie  down."  When  exhausted  and  sinking 
in  the  mire  of  Despond,  it  calls  cheerily  from  the 
banks  of  Ho|>e  along  the  shore:  "Don't  give  up! 
I'll  pull  you  out." 

It  does  not  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  average  man  to 
have  more  hard  knocks  than  he  can  stand.  If  he 
has  Pure  Grit  and  a  sound  heart,  there  is  always 
open  to  him  an  avenue  of  escape,  by  which  he  can 
avoid  the  knock-out  blow  that  would  put  him  down 
and  out  for  good.  If  he  does  lie  down,  there  is  a 
lack  of  manliness  in  him. 

The  journey  over  the  flinty  pathway  of  the  busi- 
ness life  is  not  unlike  a  ride  on  a  lumber-wagon  over 
a  roadway  strewn  with  boulders  in  a  mountainous 
country.  TiuiV  is  a  constant  jolting  and  danger  of 
being  th  ,i  from  the  seat ;  axles  creak  and  groan  as 
you  rattle  on  over  bogs  and  rocks;  now  and  then  a 

[26] 


Pure  Grit 

precipitous  plunge  into  one    of    Nature's  ditches 
causes  a  shiver  to  run  through  the  stanch  vehicle 
from  stem  to  stem,  but  all  goes  well  until  a  sharp 
turn  in  the  road  brings  you  face  to  face  with  a  large 
boulder  square  in  your  path.     Before  you  can  rein 
up  and  put  on  brakes,  snap  goes  the  axle.     You 
climb  out  to  examine  the  break,  and  with  an  exclama- 
tion of  dismay  yiu  wonder  what  you  are  going  to  d.) 
next;  then, )'  -king  about  in  your  perplexity,  you  sec 
a  blaclismith  coming  toward  you  in  the  form  of  a  good 
genie,  Pure  Grit.     You  failed  to  notice  him,  his  little 
shop  having  been  hidden  from  view  by  the  tuni  in 
the  road.     The  damage  repaired,  with  a  smile  of  en- 
couragement the  good  genie  sends  you  on  your  way 
rejoicing,   cautioiiiiig  }on  to  drive  more  carefully. 
Everything  goes  all  right  for  a  time,  liut  the  journey 
grows  tiresome  and  you  relapse  into  carelessness,  with 
a  light  grip  on  the  rein;    or,  seeing  a  smooth  stri[> 
ahead,  you  whip  up  at  a  reckless  pace,  unmindful 
of  the  (ieep  gully  just  beyond,  unlil  suddenly  snap 
goes  something  else.     This  time  the  break  is  in  all 
likelihood  more  serious.     In  despair,  the  realization 
is  forced  upon  you  that  you  are   a  long  way  from 
home,  darkness  is   coming  on,  there  is  no  shelter, 
nor  any  provisions  for  either  man  or  beast.     With 
many  a  misgiving  you   set   about   making  repairs 
alone;   it  is  hard  work,  anr'  the  ex])erience  is  new 
and  rough.      You  sr-arcelv  know  how  or  where  to 

[^7  1 


'■1  f . 


ijv. 


[ 


Men  Who  Sell  Thiiigs 

b<^i*,  the  task  seems  a  hopeless  one.  Just  as  the 
last  hope  is  giving  way,  you  look  up  and  perceive 
standing  before  you  in  the  doorway  of  his  little  shop 
the  good  genie,  Pure  Grit.  He  is  beckoning  you  to 
come  in;  you  wonder  why  you  had  not  noticed  him 
before.  O  ^c  more  he  comes  to  the  rescue  and  re- 
pairs tlie  break,  cautioning  you  the  meanwhile  to 
drive  more  carefully.  You  mount  the  seat  more 
confident  than  ever  that  the  road  can  hold  no  more 
terrors,  but  the  good  genie  knows  the  road  better  than 
you  do,  and,  not  trusting  you  to  drive  alone  this  time, 
he  climbs  up  on  the  seat  by  your  side  and  rides  along 
until  he  is  convinced  that  you  are  determined  to  keep 
a  sharp  outlook  to  the  end  of  the  journey. 

Robert  Collyer,  in  a  famous  lecture  touching  this 
subject,  said: 

"  Clear  grit  is  the  jx)wer  to  say  'No'  to  what  seem  to  \\e 
a  multitude  of  angels,  when  they  would  counsel  you  away 
from  a  downright  loyalty  to  your  instant  duty.  .  .  Simply 
dcJonnine  once  for  all  that  any  tonnent  for  being  a  true 
man  is  to  be  perferred  to  any  bliss  for  failing." 

^Ir.  Collyer  lived  in  Chicago  when  the  popula- 
tion numbered  about  one  hundred  thousand.  Dur- 
ing his  twenty  years'  residence  there  he  became  quite 
intimate  with  the  life  of  that  great  city,  and  in  the 
early  times  knew  ever)'  man  who  had  come  to  the 
iront  and  was  wielding  a  real  power  of  any  ..ort  for 
good.     He  says: 

[28] 


Pure  Grit 

"I  do  not  remember  one  among  them  who  did  not 
begin  his  life  as  a  poor  man's  son.  They  all  came  up,  so 
far  as  I  could  trace  them,  without  any  good  time  at  all 
excepting  as  boys  ought  to  have  a  good  time  in  growing 
strong  as  a  steel  bar  on  plenty  of  wholesome  work  and 
what  we  should  call  hard  fare;  fighting  their  way  to  an 
education  through  a  great  deal  of  effort,  and  then,  when 
they  are  ready,  coming  out  West  from  the  East  with  that 
half-dollar  in  their  pocket,  and  that  little  lot  of  things  done 
up  in  a  valise  that  you  will  notice  every  young  fellow  is  said 
to  start  with  who  ends  up  by  making  his  mark  or  making 
a  fortune." 

Perhaps  the  first  characteristic  of  Pure  Grit  lies 
in  the  j)ower  to  do  a  good  honest  day's  work;  and 
this  power  to  do  a  good  honest  day's  work  lies  at  the 
root  of  every  true  life. 

And  yet  it  is  just  what  a  great  number  of  sales- 
men try  not  to  do,  as  if  they  felt  that  the  best  thing  is 
to  get  the  most  money  posr'le  for  the  least  work 
possible,  and  very  often  for  the  j  oorest  work  possible 
too;  and  that  the  best  success  they  can  attain  in  this 
world  is  that  which  comes  through  what  we  cull  good 
luck.     It  seems  as  if  young  men  began  their  life  in 
this,  the  twentieth  century,  dazzled  by  "get-rich- 
quick"  opportunities  that  seem  open  before  them 
on  every  hand.     A  few,  a  very  few,  seem  to  strike  it 
"lucky,"  but  the  great  majority  who  coquette  with 
the  chances  to  get  along  easily,  which  seem  as  plenti- 
ful as  flies  in  summer  time,  generally  find  themselves 
at  last  either  in  the  penitentiary  or  the  poorhouse. 

[50] 


ti 


'''^^^mM^MMt.mM}^^mi& 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

They  will  try  this  and  then  that,  and  generally 
fail  at  everything  they  do  try,  if  this  is  all  they  want 
to  do;  then  they  wait  for  something  to  turn  up,  in- 
stead of  turning  something  up  for  themselves.  The 
man  who  sat  down  on  a  log,  waiting  to  get  warm 
enough  to  chop  down  u  tree,  froze  to  death. 

Commercial  achievement  does  not  come  to  the 
drone,  neitlier  is  it  a  product  of  luck  or  chance. 

"  The  career  of  every  nuccesuful  huitines.i  man  is 
a  ladder  of  effort  and  results;  and  the  strength  of  the 
effort  is  the  measure  of  the  result." 

Luck  and  chance  do  not  enter  the  struggle  at 
any  stage. 

Your  present  position  may  not  be  congenial ;  but 
ail  that  can  be  changed,  if  you  but  set  your  goal-post 
far  out  in  the  field  of  endeavor  and  strive  with  all 
your  might  to  reacli  it. 

The  stock-boy  that  sets  his  mind  on  a  general 
salesmanship  position  is  bound  to  have  his  desire 
gratified.  The  gencal  salesman  that  sets  his  mind 
on  he-'ding  the  list  in  sales  of  his  house  will  as  surely 
reali  _  his  ambition  as  the  morning's  sun  follows 
the  deep  shadows  of  night. 

"  Where  there  is  a  will  there  is  a  way,"  and  that 
way  is  not  the  way  of  the  thoughtless,  the  ignorant, 
and  the  indolent,  but  is  the  way  of  the  striving,  the 
intelligent,  und  the  ambitious. 

How  well  I  remember  mv  first  employer!  He 
[.snj   ' 


jjg. 


mu 


Pure  Grit 


i 

3 


WB~  the  hardest  taskmaster  in  the  world,  I  thought, 
when  I  got  my  start  in  life;  but  now  I  know  he  was 
one  of  the  best.  I  would  prefer  to  write  about  your 
experiences,  but,  not  knowing  them,  I  hope  you  will 
be  interested  in  mine. 

No  experience  of  my  lifetime  has  been  so  thor- 
oughly and  indelibly  stamped  upon  my  memory  as 
was  my  first  three  years  with  the  wholesale  drj'-goods 
house  of  S.  I-  &  Co.,  of  Detroit,  my  boyhood  home 
town.  I  began  at  three  dollars  per  week,  with  a  raise 
of  one  dollar  in  the  second  year,  and  two  the  third.  I 
had  the  linen  and  white-goods  .stock.  The  work  was 
heavy,  and  the  hours  were  long.  We  had  it  drilled 
into  us  in  those  days  that  orderliness  was  —  if  not 
next  to  godliness  —  next  to  the  next  step  in  promo- 
tion. We  were  taught  that  a  good  stock-keeper  was 
a  logical  candidate  for  a  house  salesmanship ;  after 
which,  the  road. 

There  was  no  standing  arou.id  in  cliques  dis- 
cussing the  latest  sporting  edition,  nv)  prevailing  idea, 
as  now,  that  working  when  there  was  nothing  to  do 
was  a  mere  pretence  for  work.  Idleness  amounted 
almost  to  a  crime  then ;  it  does  now,  but  plenty  of 
young  men  do  not  realize  this  truth. 

The  covers  removed  from  the  piles  of  .'^oods,  the 
dusting  finished,  which  took  about  an  hour,  for  it 
had  to  be  done  thoroughly,  bringing  down  the  re- 
serve stock  was  next  in  order.     The  tables  rearranged 


iil 


1i 


Men  Who  Sell  Thingt 

we  set  about  repairing  broken  covers  of  boxes,  or 
we  re-wrappcd  goods  which  had  been  in  stock  a  long 
time.    Everything  had  to  be  spotless  and  in  apple- 
pie  order;  so  when  this  result  was  attained  we  started 
in  to  dust  all  over  again,  even  polishing  the  edges  of 
tahUw  and  reenters  with  a  cloth.     There  was  keen 
rivalrj-  among  the  boy.,  to  see  who.e  stock  could  be 
made  to  look  the  best.    By  the  middle  of  the  fore- 
noon work  began  to  get  pretty  scarce,  but  there  was 
no  getting  away  from  it,  for  if  one  of  us  began  to  take 
an  idle  stroll  in  the  next  boy's  stock,  the  floor  man- 
ager would  appear  around  the  comer  of  an  aisle  to 
make  his   usual   morning  inspection.     It  used   to 
bother  us  a  great  deal  to  know  how  he  flgured  out 
tc  spot  us  right  t.)  a  dot,  which  he  did  with  unerring 

accuracy. 

Having  satisfied  himself  that  there  was  really 
nothing  more  of  importance  to  do,  he  would  order  an 
entire  table  of  goods  to  be  torn  down  and  rearranged. 
We  hated  him  for  it,  but  it  was  good  exercise  and 
kept  us  out  of  mischief,  the  twin  brother  of  idleness, 
besides  teaching  us  the  lesson  of  "  everiastingly  keep- 
ing at  it,"  win.  h  was  then,  as  it  is  now,  one  of  the 
cardinal  principles  of  success.  But  there  is  a  vast 
difference  now  as  to  the  modus  operandi. 

There  were  no  janitors  or  scrub-women  in  those 
days.  Twice  .a  week  each  stock-boy  was  obliged  to 
sprinkle  and  .sweep  the  floor  in  his  stock,  and  even 

[32] 


1 


Pure  Grit 

wash  the  7.-inHows  and  clean  tho  .voodwork.  We 
rather  balked  at  this;  it  nuil  ^ur  pride  a  little,  but 
beyond  that  no  harm  was  Jonc. 

Things  have  changed;    whether  for  hotter  or 
worse    must  be  argued  elsewhere.       One  thing  is 
certain,  the  bright,  industrious  stock-boys  of  a  decade 
or  two  ago  are  the  successful  merchants  and  salesmen 
of  to-day.     Ilistorj-  repeats  itself,  and  no  doubt  the 
future  will  take  care  of  itself;   l>"t  a  grave  danger 
confronts  the  merchant  in  the  too  rapid  promotion 
of  the  boys  in  stock,  the  tendency  being  to  "ni,.  the 
flower  in  the  bud."     Thcie  is  plenty  o.*  -oo  i   .  iw 
material,  but  too  rapid  growth  and  not  enougu  care 
in  selection.      The  demand   for  high-grade  men  is 
ever  on  the  increase;    it  behooves  the  boys  in  the 
ranks  to  keep  their  feet  on  the  ground,—  which  is 
the  humble  position  the  rest  of  us  occupy,—  to  have 
something  to  set  them  down  on  when  they  become 

tired. 

My  first  desire  to  sell  goods  amounted  to  almost 
a  longing.  It  attacked  me  eariy.  I  had  been  wres- 
tUng  with  dry-goods  boxes  and  feather  dusters  for 
about  a  year'and  a  half,  when  all  of  a  sudden  the 
seed  burst  forth,  unfolding  the  petals  of  a  new  life, 
the  freedom  and  brilliancy  of  which  fairiy  dazzled 

me,  young  as  I  was. 

One  day  a  handsome,  finely  attired  chap,  with 
a  flow  of  Eiigli.sli  tliat  sounded  to  me  like  a  lesson  in 

133] 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

rhetoric,  appeared  in  the  store.  He  hailed  from 
New  York  with  a  Une  of  Unens.  ^Vhen  he  encoun- 
tered the  buyer  in  my  department,  there  com- 
menced at  once  a  contest  of  wits  that  to  this  day  I 
have  never  heard  equalled. 

Sheltered  by  a  pile  of  friendly  damask,  I  eagerly 
Ustened  to  all  that  was  said,  making  mental  blue- 
prints of  the  whole  dialogue,  even  jotting  down  some 
of  the  good  points.  In  the  selling-talk  of  that  dapper 
salesman  lurked  the  germs  of  a  new  life  for  me.  I 
became  inoculated  with  a  burning  desire  to  do  some- 
thing and  be  something;  the  determination  to  be- 
come a  salesman  seized  me  on  the  spot;  my  future 
was  sealed;  I  knew  it,  felt  it,  breathed  it,  and  was 
content  to  bask  in  the  rays  of  its  stimulating  influence. 

I  was  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  and  the  way 
up  looked  steep  and  strewn  with  boulders,  but  the 
strength  of  my  determination  made  the  pathway 
seem  easy  and  gave  me  a  glimpse  of  the  glorious  out- 
look at  the  top. 

At  last  an  opportunity  came  to  make  my  first 
step.  It  was  just  a  little  one,  so  small  that  some 
would  have  passed  it  by,  not  realizing  that  it  really 
was  an  opportunity.  It  happened  that  on^  of  the 
house  salesmen  who  looked  after  the  German  trade 
had  a  small  customer  from  a  side  street  in  the  house 
buying  white  goods.  Having  been  called  away  to 
meet  a  more  important  buyer,  he  turned  his  little 

[34] 


.ItiHk 


Pure  Grit 

customer  over  to  me  wnth  the  joking  side  remark, 
"  Sell  him  a  good  bill,  my  boy.     He  's  good  for  it," 
and  was  gone.     I  was  frightened  half  out  of  my  wits 
at  being  left  alone  for  the  first  lime  with  a  real  cus- 
tomer.    I  had  handled  many  in  fancy  since  the  great 
event  of  tlie  New  York  salesman's  -visit.     I  stood 
for  a   moment   helpless   and   undecided,   but   was 
promptly  brought  to  by  Hans,  who,  having  noticed 
my  backwardness,  said  with  some  spirit,  "  Vill  you 
do  me  sometings  f  "     The  spark  ignited  the  powder, 
and  the  way  I  lighted  into  that  poor  little  side-street 
merchant  was   worthy  of  better  results  than  the 
amount  of  his  bill  afterwards  showed.     I  had  my 
notebook  to  prompt  me  with  my  New  York  friend's 
ideas,  and  many  a  furtive  glance  I  stole  at  it  when 
Hans  was  not  looking.     He  nmst  have  thought  1 
was  suffering  with  St.  Vitus's  dance,  for  the  contor- 
tions of  salesmanship  I  went  through  in  a  vain  effort 
to  make  him  take  two  pieces  of  bird's-eye  linen  in 
place  of  one  would,  with  a  little  more  polish  and 
experience,  have  landed  a  contract  for  a  suspension 

bridge. 

Two  years  of  waiting,  and  my  dream  became  a 
reality  when  I  secured  a  position  on  the  road  with  a 
neighboring  wholesale  millinery  house,  and  my  cup 
of  happiness  was  filled  to  overflowing  at  the  thought 
of  becoming  a  real  salesman  and  closing  the  old  life 
forever. 


W  ! 


I 


4), 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

I  was  fortunate  in  securing  a  little  business  in 
my  first  town,  and  when  1  had  finished  writing  and 
mailing  the  order  to  the  house  that  night,  I  went  up 
to  ray  room  and  literally  threw  up  my  hat  in  giving 
vent  to  my  feelings.  I  regarded  my  subsequent 
sales  f  eks  as  corner-stones  in  the  superstruc- 

ture of  aiding  toward  success,  and  the  final 

results  t,.   each  month,  whether  large  or  small,  as 
filling-in  stones  to  its  completion. 

INIy  salar}'  contract   for  one  year  was   at  six 
hundred  dollars.     The  salesman  ahead  of  me  was 
getting  one  thousand,  and  I  said  to  myself  I  must 
have  that  much  next  year.      It  seemed  a  fortune, 
and  the  thought  was  ever  with  me  that  if  I  could 
earn  one  thousand  dollars  per  year  I  would  have 
reached  the  end  of  the  rainbow.     Having  secured 
that,  I  wanted  fifteen  hundred,  then  eighteen  hun- 
dred.   Finally  arriving  ut  I  wo  thousand  five  hundred . 
I  paused  and  looked  back  over  the  six  preceding 
years  in  an  effort  to  measure  the  future  by  the  past. 
The  thought  occurred  to  me  that  but  one-third  of 
my  life  had  been  spent  in  climbing,  figuring  it  from 
the  usual  estnuate  of  "  threescore  years  and  ten" ; 
and  why  stop  there  .=     The  mountain  was  high,  and 
the  distance  to  the  top  yet  a  long  way  up. 

That  was  years  ago,  and  I  expect  to  keep  on 
climbi:  g  until  I  die.  But  I  have  not  engaged  to 
write  a  historj-  of  my  life.     In  pasning,  I  wish  merely 

[30] 


Fure  Grit 

to  emphasize  the  words  of  James  Allen  in  his  most 
excellent  little  book,  "As  a  Man  Thinketh": 

"Into  your  hands  will  be  jjlaced  the  exact  results  of 
your  efforts  You  will  receive  that  which  yon  earn  —  no 
more,  no  less.  Whatever  your  present  circumstances 
might  be  you  will  fall,  remain,  or  rise  with  your  efforts, 
your  visions,  vour  aim.  , 

"To  desire  is  to  obtain;  to  aspire  is  to  achieve. 
The  though  Hess,  the  ignorant,  and  the  indolent,  seeing 
only  the  apparent  effect  of  things,  and  not  the  things 
themselves,  talk  of  luck,  of  fortune,  and  of  ch^ince.  Seemcr 
a  man  grow  rich,  they  say,  'How  lucky  he  is!  Observing 
another  becoming  intelligent,  they  exclaim.    How  highly 

fortunate  he  is!'  ,     .  .,  .1      »        i 

"They  do  not  see  the  trials,  the  failures,  the  struggles 
which  these  have  encountered;  have  no  knowledge  of  the 
sacrifices  they  have  made,  of  the  undaunted  efforts  they 
have  put  forth  that  they  may  overcome  the  apparently 
insurmountable,  and  realize  the  goal  of  their  ambition. 
They  .lo  not  know  the  darkness  and  the  heartaches;  only 
see  the  light  and  joy,  and  call  it  'luck';  do  not  see  the  long 
and  archu.us  journey,  but  omy  the  pleasant  goal,  and  call 
it  'good  fortune';  do  not  understand  the  process,  but 
only  perceive  the  result,  and  call  it  'chance.'  " 

Successful  salesmanship  is  the  product  of  intelli- 
qent,  easiest  effort.  There  is  no  serving  two  masters. 
Indolence  and  InduFtrj-.  It  is  climb,  climb,  cUmb, 
ill!  the  way,  exercising  watchful  care;  but  the  summit 
of  the  mountain  is  your  reward.  The  pleasure  is  not 
all  in  winning,  by  any  means;  the  real  exhilarating 
fun.  or  two-thirds  of  it,  is  in  the  chmbing. 

Self-deception    is    responsible    for  more  than 
[37] 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

three-fourths  of  the  so-called  "unexplained  failures" 
in  salesmanship.  Many  salesmen  in  the  race  for 
success  explain  their  shortcomings  as  they  do  in  a 
game  of  ten-pins.  . .  they  fall  to  wipx,  sometliing  is 
wrong  with  the  alley,  or  the  pins  are  not  spotted,  or 
their  arm  is  out  of  whaek.  The  trouble  is  never  with 
the;  .selves. 

You  cannot  afford  to  fool  yourself.  Your  suc- 
cess depends  absolutely  upon  tlie  aaiount  of  skill 
and  energy  you  throw  into  your  work. 

If  you  are  always  on  the  anxious  scat  about  your 
position,  the  fault  is  with  yoursth",  not  with  your 
house,  your  territory ,  or  your  line.  Just  as  the  poor 
workman  always  finds  fault  with  his  tools,  so  does 
the  poor  salesman  complain  of  his  suvroundings. 

Your  light  will  not  be  hid  under  a  bushel,  your 
capabilities  will  be  recognized.  The  good  salesman 
will  succeed  with  a  weak  line  and  a  poor  territorv', 
and  then  hunt  around  for  something  better  with 
which  to  fit  the  growth  of  his  expanding  powers;  but 
the  poor  salesman  is  a  poor  salesman  still.  The 
best  line  in  the  universe  cannot  supply  the  missing 
link  in  his  negative  make-up. 

Don  t  imagine  you  are  kept  down  by  lack  of 
your  employer's  appreciation.  If  you  do,  you  fool 
yourself,  and  ^nll  remain  a  dwarf  forever. 

Of  all  the  disgruntled  failures,  those  who  de- 
serve the  least  svmpathv  are  the  ones  who  gather  in 

■[  38  ] 


Fiire  Crrit 


foolish  little  cliques,  praise  each  other,  deceive  each 
other,  and  fool  themselves.  It  is  a  great  tiling  to 
know  yourself  and  acknowledge  your  mistakes. 

Have  faith  in  your  own  ability  to  win.  Cut 
loose  from  the  weakness  that  prompts  you  to  say: 
"I  am  not  appreciated " ;  "I  have  had  bad  luck 
all  ray  hfc";  "Othet„  Have  had  a  better  chance"; 
"I  wish  I  could  have  the  good  fortune  of  Jones  or 
Smith  or  Brown." 

Remember   that   there   may   be   undiscovered 
diamonds  in  your  own  back  yard. 

Delcnnine  that  in  your  case  you  will  not  recog- 
nize failure,  and  that  ''explanation  is  damnation." 
Success  lies  in  your  ability  to  discover  and  apply 
vour  own  powers.  Excuses  and  the  admission  of 
failure  are  the  thieves  that  rob  you  of  your  strength, 
causing  you  to  play  against  yourself  and  fool  yourself 
in  the  bargain. 

A  salesman  is  what  his  spirit  and  his  determina- 
tion are.  Nothing  hurts  except  that  wliich  weakens 
our  minds  by  weakening  our  courage. 

The  salesman  should  say,  "  I  will  stand  what 
comes,  I  won't  give  in.  No  matter  what  the  dis- 
couragements, I  am  going  to  climb  this  mountain 
Success,  from  the  bottom  up,  just  as  well  as  I  know 
how.  No  matter  what  happens,  I  am  going  to  reach 
the  top,  if  possible,  with  just  as  much  Pure  Grit  as  I 
had  when  1  began  the  journey." 

[39] 


U  i 


H 


l^ 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

The  "Chicago  Examiner,"  in  an  editorial  on 
Courage,  related  the  following  story: 

In  this  street  of  Life,  walking  in  the  darkness  of  the 
shadow,  hungry  old  Satan  was  out  hunting  with  his  dogs, 
the  Uttle  imps  of  human  weakness. 

A  man  came  walking  through  Life's  street. 

Satan  said  to  the  httle  devil,  with  a  bitter  face,  "Go, 
get  him  for  me." 

Quickly  tlie  imp  crossed  the  street,  silently  and  lightly 
hopped  to  the  man's  shoulder.  Close  in  his  ear  he  whis- 
pered: 

"You  are  discouraged." 

"No."  said  the  man,  "I  am  not  discouraged." 

"You  are  discouraged." 

The  man  replied  this  time,  "I  do  not  think  I  am." 

Louder  and  more  decidedly  the  little  imp  said  again: 
"I  tell  you  you  are  discouraged." 

The  man  dropped  his  head  and  replied:  "Well,  I 
suppose  I  am." 

The  imp  hopped  back  to  Satan,  and  said  proudly; 
"I  have  got  him,  he  is  discouraged." 

Another  man  passed.  Again  old  Satan  said,  "Get 
him  for  me." 

The  proud  little  demon  of  discouragenif-nt  repeated 

his  tactics.  ^^ 

The  first  time  that  he  said,  "You  are  discouraged, 

the  man  replied  emphatically,  "No." 

The  second  time  the  man  replied,  "I  tell  you  I  am  not 

discouraged." 

The  tliird  time  he  said-    "I  am  not  discouraged. 

You  lie." 

The  man  walked  down  the  street,  his  head  up,  gomg 

toward  the  light. 

The  imp  of  discouragement  returned  to  his  master 

crestfallen . 

r4o] 


"i 


Pure  Grit 


\\\\'v  limes  I  told  him  he  was 
he  called  me  a  liar,  and  that 


"I  could  n't  gel  him. 
discouraged.     'I'lie  tliird  tinn 
discouraged  mc." 

Make  up  your  mind,  Mr.  Salesman,  thai  the 
little  demon  whi.spering  discouragement  in  your  t  ar 
shall  always  get  from  you  the  answer,  "You  lie." 

Temporary  reverses  are  good  for  the  spirit, 
strengthening  to  the  mind;  not  calamities,  but  real 
benefits,  if  we  receive  them  in  the  proper  spirit. 

A  certain  business  man  told  the  following  story 
of  a  clerk  in  his  establi-shment.  The  clerk  was  asked 
why  he  remained  in  a  poorly  paid  position  when,  by 
working  a  little  harder  and  taking  a  little  more  inter- 
est in  the  business,  he  might  get  into  a  place  that 
would  lead  to  a  salary  three  or  four  times  as  large  as 
he  was  ^ecei^'^ng. 

"Oh,"  he  said,  "there  s  no  chance  for  a  fellow 
to  make  a  hit  here;  all  the  good  positions  are  taken, 
and  whenever  there's  a  prospective  vacancy  there 
are  three  or  four  fellows  waiting  to  step  into  it.  No; 
it's  a  poor  chance  u,  ellow  has  here;  so  what 's  the 
use  of  killing  yourself.'  I  'm  not  such  a  fool;  I  'm 
just  hanging  on  here  until  I  get  something  better. 
I  've  got  my  lines  out  in  two  or  three  places,  places 
where  there  are  plenty  of  good  chances  for  a  fellow 
to  start  in  and  dig  his  way  up.  Just  as  soon  as  I 
get  answers  to  my  appUcations  you  "11  see  me  get  out 
of  here  so  quick!  v  that  it  '11  make  your  head  swim  to 

[41] 


11 

1 

: 


H' 


hi 

hi 


I 


r 


Me7i  Who  Sell  Things 

watch  me.  When  I  get  into  u  good  job  in  one  of 
these  other  places  is  when  I  '11  begin  to  work,  ^^^lat  's 
the  use  kiUing  yourself  here  ?   There  's  no  chiuice  for 

you." 

What  a  delusion !  Toor  dunce,  playing  against 
yourself  and  fooling  yourself!  Employers  are  not 
looking  for  professional  floaters;  and  if  you  cannot 
succeed  where  you  are,  you  will  never  succeed  any- 
where. The  place  you  are  in  right  now  is  just  the 
piece  for  yoii,  if  you  mean  business.  If  you  don't, 
you  will  not  be  wanted  long  anywhere.  From  this 
ver\'  class  of  young  men  is  recruited  the  vast  army  of 
ne'er-do-wells.  You  must  first  prove  to  your  own 
satisfaction  and  that  of  your  employer  that  you  are 
a  success  at  what  you  are  doing,  before  you  can  hope 
for  scnething  better. 

The  salesmen  who  are  travelling  on  limited 
trains,  making  large  cities,  living  in  first-class  hotels, 
and  drawing  monthly  pay-checks  beginning  with  the 
figure  3  and  up  and  ending  with  two  ciphers, 
started  where  you  are  and  stuck  to  it. 

Wliere  are  you  on  the  mountain,  reader?  If 
you  have  climbed  for  all  you  are  worth  and  feel  tir  d 
and  a  trifle  discouraged,  look  up;  safety  is  there. 
Remember  when  on  an  eminence  there  is  danger  in 
looking  down.  If  the  way  is  more  rugged  than  you 
thought,  do  not  give  up.  You  may  still  have  reserve 
strength  that  you  know  not  of.     No  man  can  tell 


Pur-  Grit 

what  lie  can  <!<»  until  h<;  trio.  And  it  is  a  moral  cer- 
tainty that  "  the  reason  why  most  men  do  not  accom- 
plish more  is  because  they  do  not  attempt  more." 

Cast  off  the  dead  weight  that  is  dragging  you 
down;  throw  overboard  every  pound  of  unnecessary 
ballast;  let  yourself  soar  in  the  thought  that  you 
possess  powers  thai  are  yet  undiscovered.  Make  a 
draft  on  your  reserve  force.  Exercise  new  faith  in 
vourself  and  your  surroundings.  \'()u  cannot  navi- 
gate far  without  faith,  and  some  of  the  best  of  sales- 
men  have  gone  down  for  lack  of  it.  Cut  away  from 
the  influences  and  the  company  that  can  do  you  no 
good.  Seek  only  the  approval  of  those  above  you  in 
authority,  and  you  will  surely  win  success. 


l/tj 


11  ' 


[43] 


il 


i 


K^gT' 


r 


r. 


^ 


Me7i   Who  Sell  Things 


CHAPTER  III 

THE    KNOCKER 

The  man  :r/u)  tears  doicn  reptUatiotui 
alwaijs  (jds  most  of  the  dirt  himself. 

What  a  jollij  world  of  grand  morals  this 
would  he  if  every  man  came  up  to  the  stand- 
ard of  perfection  he  fixes  for  his  neighbor! 

SOME  one  has  saitl :  "  There  are  but  two  kinds  of 
young  men,  tliose  thaJ  are  good,  and  those  that 
are  no  good." 

This  scarcely  a])plies  to  salesmen,  f<,r  there  are 
many  kinds  in  between. 

To  which  class  do  you  belong 't 

We  have  the  Knocker,  the  Order-taker,  the 
\Mieelbarrow,  the  Sky-rocket,  the  Fussy  or  Over- 
anxious, the  Quick-tempered,  the  Know  it-all,  the 
Old-timer,  and  a  few  others  with  accompaniments 
not  altogether  in  the  nature  of  selling-assets. 

In  the  whole  catcgorj'  of  men  who  sell  things, 
the  one  whom  the  novice  should  strive  to  imitate  is 
the  well-rounded,  strictly  up-to-the-minute  business- 
getter.  Such  a  one  is  at  once  ambassador,  minister 
plenipotentiary,  and  promoter  of  his  house. 

The  salesman  who  is  worthy  of  his  profession 
is  not  only  the  ambassador  of  his  house,  he  is  in  real- 
ity the  house  itself,  when  he  is  out  in  the  field.     His 

[44] 


The  Knocker 


every  word  and  action  should  be  clothed  with  Ji  dig- 
nity suitable  to  the  work  with  which  he  is  ifitnistcd. 

In  the  natural  course  of  business  events,  it  is 
generally  found  that  large  institutions  which  em{)loy 
many  travellers  are  able  to  secure  the  services  of 
enough  really  capable  ones  to  make  the  general  aver- 
age good.  If  this  were  not  so,  and  they  were  obliged 
to  draw  their  entire  selling-strength  from  the  list  of 
misfits  mentioned  above,  they  would  verj'  shortly 
find  a  padlock  on  the  front  door  and  the  sheriff  if; 
charge. 

When  one  government  sends  an  ambassador  to 
another,  a  man  is  selected  for  the  mission  who  has 
.stood  high  in  the  community,  and  who  is  endowed 
with  peculiar  ability  to  perform  the  duties.  If  a 
mi.stake  is  made,  and  he  is  found  to  be  lacking  in  the 
necessary  qualifications,  such  as  tact,  honesty,  or 
loyalty  to  duty,  he  is  promptly  recalled  and  his  place 
filled  by  another.  Or,  if  he  lacks  ability  only,  he 
may  wake  up  some  fine  morning  to  find  that  he  has 
been  relegated  to  some  unimportant  po.st  in  an  out- 
of-the-wav  country. 

But  to  return  to  salesmen.  Beginning  with  the 
Knocker  and  taking  them  in  order,  we  find  them  an 
interesting  and  heterogeneous  group. 

The  Knocker  is  the  most  obnoxious  type,  and 
is  brandc<i  at  once  as  the  most  nsele.=s.  He  can 
scarcely  be  rated  as  an  asset  in  the  selling  staff,  unless 

[45] 


I 


i 


ii 


\i 


»f 


il 


1 

t 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

we  take  liim  in  the  inventory  at  a  discount  of  ninety 
{XT  cent.  The  remaining  ten  per  cent  might  be 
ixali/.ed  upon  as  a  job  lot,  to  be  sold  out  in  the  first 
clearance  sale  that  t'onies  along. 

The  editor  of  "The  Philistine"  says:  "Knock- 
ing is  criticism,  and  without  criticJMn  there  is  no 
advancement." 

In  niJiking  that  statement  '  •  •♦ainly  was  not 
speaking  of  salesmen,  or  he  woul. J  have  said,  "Knock- 
ing is  robberv',  and  the  thief  is  a  parasite." 

The  knocking  salesman  should  not  pray,  with 
the  Pharisees,  "  O  Lord,  make  other  men  as  we  are," 
but  rather,  "  Let  us  see  ourselves  as  others  see  us." 
If  the  latter  prayer  were  granted,  they  would  take  the 
shortest  cut  possible  to  the  nearest  oculist  to  have 
their  eyes  fitted  with  long-distance,  dear-seeing 
glasses  to  replace  their  blue  goggles  of  doubt,  hate, 
and  suspicion. 

The  Knocker  reminds  me  in  some  of  his  phases 
of  the  storj-  of  the  man  down  in  the  spring  branch 
trj'ing  to  clear  the  water  so  that  he  could  get  a 
pure  drink.  He  was  doing  all  he  could  to  filter 
the  water,  when  some  friend  called  out  to  him: 
"  Stranger,  come  up  a  little  liigher  and  run  that  hog 
out  of  the  spring,  and  it  will  clear  itself." 

No  trouble  then.  The  hardest  work  a  man  ever 
uridertalccs  in  this  world  is  to  ivy  to  lift  himsvlf  up 
while  trying  to  pull  his  brother  down.     It  is  like 

[46] 


The  Knocker 


trying  to  pull  yourst-jf  out  of  a  quicksand;  the  more 
you  tiy-  to  work  free  from  it,  the  deeper  you  sink. 
Theiv  is  no  such  thing  as  boosting  yourself  by 
knot  king  Mivac  one  else. 

Did  you  ev<«r  liMik  at  yourself  from  head  to  foot 
—  look  at  yourself  as  a  salesman  t 

Did  you  ever  wake  tip  in  the  morning  aad  shut 
your  eyes  and  lie  still  and  say:  "  Well,  suppose  every 
salesman  m  thv  house  were  just  like  nie,  what  sort 
of  a  house  would  w«'  have  f  Sup{M>se  e\  cry  salesman 
in  our  house  knocked  as  much  as  I  knock,  ^^  hat  s(>rt 
f»f  a  house  would  we  have ?  Sup[K)Sf  ever  salesman 
ill  the  li(»use  worke«l  as  little  a.->  I  vv<»rk,  h..u-  long  be- 
fore the  whole  thiny  would  go  into  bankruptcy?  " 

It  is  well  now  and  then  to  get  a  square,  hon-.st 
look  at  yourself. 

\Miat  s(»rt  of  a  salesman  are  you  ? 

A  salesman's  tongue  has  a  gre-it  deal  to  do  with 
his  salesmanship;  or,  rather,  a  salesman  >  salesman- 
ship has  a  great  deal  to  do  with  his  tongue. 

The  Knocker's  t«>nguc  is  full  of  deadly  poison. 
It  is  sharj)-edge<l  and  treacherous  as  an  ever-ready 
stiletto. 

Sit  beside  the  victim  of  the  Knocker.  Put  your 
ear  to  his  heart,  and  you  can  hear  a  steady  dnp,  drip, 
<lrip,  as  of  blood  from  a  gaping  wound. 


Wl=n!  didthst?"you  say 
'i  it  tl: 
[t7] 


unkind  tongue  woundrnl  it  there." 


His  reply  is-  "An 


1    '' 


i 


1 


'] 


^1 


'I 


Men  Wlio  Sell  Things 

The  meanest  man  (m  earth  is  th^  one  who  wiU 
wound  a  man's  character  with  his  tongue. 

The  Knocker  is  no  respecter  of  persons;    he 
knocks  the  credit  man,  knocks  the  buyer,  knocks 
the  sales  manager,  knocks  his  fellow-travellers;   in 
fact.he  knocks  everything  and  everybodyin  the  place, 
from  office  boy  to  president.     He  even  knocks  his 
own  interests.     Every  one  but  the  Knocker  him- 
self knows  that  "the  dog  that  will  carry  a  bone  will 
fetch  a  bone";  but  as  a  temporary  mischief-n  aker 
he  causes  "Maud,"  the  mule  of  comic-newspaper 
fame,  to  appear  to  have  creeping  paralysis  when  com- 
pared with  him  as  to  their  relative  kicking  merits. 

Knocking  is  a  habit,  and  a  bad  one.  Don't 
acquire  it.  If  you  do,  some  day  you  will  give  your- 
self a  knock-out  blow.  Remember  the  old  saving. 
The  man  ^-ho  attends  to  his  own  business  has  not 
time  to  attend  to  the  business  of  others. 

Now,  recollect,  if  you  are  a  salesman  and 
love  your  house,  everything  you  cannot  help,  every- 
thing you  would  have  warded  off  if  you  could. 
ever^'thing  you  would  have  conquered  if  you 
could,  everything  in  the  salesman's  life  except  dis- 
l^one^ty  — and  knocking  is  a  form  of  dishonesty  — 
works  for  good;  and  no  power  on  earth  can  make 
this  negative  quaUty  work  for  anybody's  good, 
because  dishonesty  is  the  reversal,  the  throwmg  out 
of  gear,  of  the  machinery  of  our  nature. 

148] 


'Ji^lKl^ 


The  Knocker 

When  we  begin  to  undermine  the  honest  efforts 
of  others,  we  reverse  the  machinery  of  our  nature 
and  run  it  backwards.  You  can  no  more  do  good 
work  for  your  house  when  you  reverse  the  machinoiy 
of  your  nature  than  you  can  make  a  lawn-mower  cut 
grass  when  you  run  it  backwards.  One  is  as  impos- 
sible as  the  other.  All  things  work  for  your  (jood 
when  you  are  running  in  harmony  with  your  house 
and  in  line  with  your  house. 

When  you  walk  up  to  a  piano  and  touch  a  key, 
and  that  key  is  out  of  tune  and  out  of  harmony,  it 
is  out  of  harmony  not  only  with  the  rest  of  the  keys 
of  the  piano,  but  with  everything  in  the  universe  that 
is  m  harmony  with  them.  But  when  the  piano- 
tuner  walks  up  to  the  piano  and  opens  it,  and  takes 
out  his  instruments  and  works  away  at  that  particu- 
lar string,  he  restores  the  harmony  that  was  lost. 
And  success  lies  in  getting  into  harmony  with  your 
house.  Then  everything  moves  along  harmoniously, 
adjusting  and  setting  the  rules  of  the  house  to  music. 
Is  it  not  so  ? 

WTien  your  firm  bids  you  do  this  or  that,  the 
command  should  immediately  touch  a  responsive 
chord  in  your  nature  in  sympathy  with  the  work  in 
hand,  and  then  you  are  in  harmony,  which  makes 
easy  of  accomplishment  the  most  difficult  task. 
Your  house  wills  it,  and  they  will  do  their  part  t(» 
make  your  daily  efforts  conduce  to  your  final  success. 

[W] 


H 


'■I   \ 


i|  (:  i 
11 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 


When  you  are  tempted  to  believe  that  your 
house  is  going  straight  to  perdition,  ana  that  you  are 
the  only  man  on  the  premises  who  can  save  it,  think 
of  the  incident  that  occurred  in  1864  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  Abraham  Lincoln   as  President  of  the 
United  States.    The  politi-al  aspect  of  the  whole 
country  was  that  of  a  seething,  boiling  Niagara. 
Some  gentlemen  from  the  West  were  excited  about 
the  commissions  or  oraiss"  -ns  of  the  Administration. 
President  Lincoln  heard  them  patiently,  and  then 
repUed:  "Gentlemen,  suppose  all  the  property  you 
were  worth  was  in  gold,  and  you  had  put  it  in  the 
hands  of  Blondin  to  carry  across  the  Niagara  River 
on  a  rope;   would  you   shake  the  cable  or  keep 
shouting  out  to  him,  'Blondin,  stand  up  a  little 
straighter ! '    '  Blondin,  stoop  a  little  more ! '     '  Go  a 
little  faster!'    'Lean   a  little   more  to  the   south!' 
'  Blondin,  lean  a  little  more  to  the  north '  ?    No;  you 
would  hold  your  breath,  as  well  as  your  tongue,  and 
keep  your  hand  off  until  he  was  safe  over.     The 
r-oveniraent  is  carrying  an  immense  weight.     Un- 
told treasures  are  in  our  hands.     Keep  silence,  and 
we  '11  get  you  safe  across." 

Knocking  or  "kicking"  salesmen  classify  them- 
selves as  among  the  reform  forces. 

Inasmuch  as  their  object  seems  to  be  the  imme- 
diate reformation  of  the  entire  business  world,  they 
are  hopelessly  beyond  arguracnt,  and  therefore  the 

[  -'n  ] 


■■ 


] 


The  Knocker 

best  course  for  a  sensible  salesiuaa  to  pursue  with 
regard  to  them  is  to  leave  them  alone,  and  let  them 
kick.  They  don't  suggest  any  remedies,  but  they 
just  kick,  and  there  are  always  a  few  of  the  weaker 
sort  standing  around  to  give  them  encouragement 
and  assistance. 

To  reform  the  whole  earth  and  make  it  over 
different  is  a  job  that  only  the  saints  can  tackle. 

Speaker  Cannon,  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, paid  more  attention  during  the  political  cam- 
paign of  1906  to  the  reform  forces  than  to  any  other 
faction. 

"We  have  had  ten  years,"  said  he,  "of  unin- 
terrupted prosperity  untlcr  the  management  of  the 
Republican  party,  but  in  spite  of  this  there  are  here 
and  there  among  our  eighty-five  niillions  of  people 
kickers  whose  vanity  leads  them  to  believe  they 
could  manage  things  much  better  if  they  had  the 

chance We  used  to  have  a  nmlc,  and  when 

we  used  to  put  him  in  the  log  barn  and  give  Iiim 
a  full  feed  of  oats,  as  soon  as  he  had  eaten  the  oats 
he'd  begin  to  kick  and  bray.  Wo  never  could  figure 
out  whether  he  was  braying  because  he  was  kicking, 
or  kicking  because  he  was  braying.  But  all  we  did 
was  to  keep  out  of  the  bam  and  let  him  kick  and 
bray  all  he  wanted  to." 

That's  all  you  can  do  with  the  kickers  —  let 
Iheiu  alone.     Th«'v  are  bevotid  reasoninj:  with. 

I. Ml 


1 


-  »    r 


li' 


r 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

Your  house  has  enough  to  take  up  all  its  atten- 
tion with  things  that  are  happening  every  day,  with- 
out bothering  about  things  that  can't  be  mended  or 
with  things  that  are  going  to  happen  some  time  in 
the  future,  except,  perhaps,  to  ask  your  resignation 
if  you  can't  break  the  habit  of  knocking. 

What  you  have  to  do  is  to  take  care  of  the  things 
that  are  within  the  sphere  of  your  duty,  and  you  will 
have  no  time  to  bother  about  things  that  do  not  con- 
cern you.  That 's  what  your  house  is  doing,  and 
what  the  men  are  doing  who  head  the  sales  list  in 

your  house. 

The  Knocker  is  bad  enough,  but  his  friends 
who  stand  around  in  foolish  little  cliques  encourag- 
ing him  are  no  better.  He  at  least  has  the  courage 
of  his  convictions,  such  as  they  arc,  while  those 
others  stay  around  in  the  dark  and  act  as  cat's  paw 
to  pull  his  chestnuts  out  of  the  fire. 

The  Knocker  is  of  the  least  account  in  the  entire 
group  of  negative  salesmen.  The  others  trj'  to 
amount  to  something  in  their  own  way,  but  he  has 
been  mean  ever  since  he  was  bom. 

In  reviemng  them  all,  I  want  you  to  understand 
—  if  you  are  a  Knocker  — that  you  are  worse  than 
a  hundred  of  the  poorest  salesmen  put  together. 

The  most  stupid  Knocker  of  the  entire  kicking 
class  is  the  one  who  seems  to  take  peculiar  delight 
in  running  down  his  compelil'>''s. 

[5«] 


,<yv     :\r.  •«"■■  ,:V 


:-»>=5i« 


7V<e  Knocker 

There  is  no  surer  help  to  the  eflForts  of  a  sales- 
man than  that  which  comes  through  speaking  well 
of  his  rivals  in  business  whenever  opportunity  pre- 
sents itself,  and  that  not  merely  in  the  sense  implied 
by  the  witty  preacher  who  said,  while  seeking  a 
goodly  collection  from  a  large  audience,  "In  order 
to  get  a  good  collection  nowadays  an  audience  must 
be  assured  beyond  a  reasonable  doubt  that  it  w'U  get 
back  two  dollars  for  every  one  put  in  the  box." 
Kindness  for  kindness'  sake  alone  is  its  own  reward. 

When  I  was  about  to  make  my  first  trip  on  the 
road,  my  employer  came  to  me  and  said:  ''I  hope 

you  can  sell  Mr.  at  .     If  you  succeed  ir 

getting  a  bill  there,  we  will  give  you  a  long  credit 
mark.  As  vet  no  man  callii «'  from  our  house  has 
been  able  to  interest  him." 

On  my  arrival  there,  I  was  given  a  cc  .  recep- 
tion. Quite  naturally,  I  was  anxious  to  land  an 
order,  as  can  well  be  imagined;  but  like  the  rest, 
I  failed,  and  was  greatly  crestfallen  over  my  defeat. 

I  kept  on  drumming  that  customer,  determined 
that  1  would  get  him  sooner  or  later.  About  the 
time  of  my  fourth  visit  he  surprised  me  by  saying: 
"  I  need  some  goods  to-day.  If  you  have  what  I 
want,  you  '11  get  a  good  order." 

When  he  had  finished  looking  through  my 
sample  line,  he  turned  to  me  with,  "Do  you  know 
whv  I  am  giAing  vou  a  «nal  '•' " 


.1 


il       r  ■-; 


1 ;(  f. 


ii 


\fi 


;^& 


«...  ^t^ 


'  •tA,i^s 


Id 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

I  told  him  I  supposed  it  was  because  1  had  hap- 
pened along  when  he  was  out  of  goods. 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "  that  is  only  part  of  the  reason. 
The  first  time  yo  i  called  at  my  place  you  asked  me 
what  house  I  traded  with  mostly,  and  you  spoke  so 
highly  of  them  that  I  made  up  my  mind  you  would 
give  me  a  square  deal  if  you  had  a  chance." 

I  sold  that  man  goods  until  he  retired  from  busi- 
ness, ten  years  later,  and  he  was  one  of  the  best 
friends  I  had. 

President  Roosevelt,  in  his  last  message  to  Con- 
gress, said:  "Science  in  business  is  advanced  as 
never  before.  No  one  of  us  can  make  the  world 
move  on  very  far,  but  it  moves  at  all  only  when 
each  one  of  a  very  large  number  does  his  duty. 
Our  duty  is  not  in  doing  what  we  think  is  best,  or 
what  is  best  for  ourselves,  but  in  doing  what  is  best 
for  the  common  good  of  all." 

There  are  people  who  believe  that  criticism  and 
fault-finding  are  indicative  of  wisdom,  and  that  the 
man  who  performs  his  daily  task  quietly  and  without 
murmur  is  lacking  in  the  substantial  qualities  of 
mind.  To  be  disparaged  is  the  penalty  Brilliance 
must  ever  pay  to  Dulness. 

A  psychologist  tells  us:  "  In  each  human  being 
there  are  four  personalities,  namely;  first,  John  as 
he  is  known  to  himself;  second,  John  .?s  he  is  known 
to  his  friends;   third,  John  as  lu-  i^   known  to  his 

[  -t  1 


The  Kivocker 

enemies;  fourth,  the  real  John,  who  is  knf)wn  only 
to  his  Maker,  and  on  whom  every  deed  of  the  other 
Johns  leaves  its  impress  for  good  or  evil.  Those 
who  love  us  see  us  at  our  best,  and  only  hy  striving 
the  send  grows  itnmyer." 

However  perfect  a  piece  of  mechanism  may  be, 
it  must  be  kept  well  oiled,  in  order  that  it  may  per- 
form its  functions  properly.  In  the  same  manner 
the  house  and  its  salesmen  must  fit  together  and  work 
harmoniously;  yet  none  the  less  there  will  occa- 
sionally be  found  external  and  internal  causes  which 
create  friction  or  clog  the  wheels. 

The  "petty  dust"  of  daily  business  life  is  more 
than  apt  to  upset  the  mental  machinery,  and  the  best 
lubricant  is  to  be  found  in  tact  conibii:  ,1  with  humor. 
A  kind  word  or  thoughtful  silence,  which  sor  letiraes 
is  better  than  speech,  a  boost  in  place  of  a  knock, 
each  has  its  place  in  keeping  the  wheels  of  com- 
merce running  smoothlv  along  the  road"-ay  of  busi- 
ness life.  So  that,  after  all,  the  conclusion  of  the 
whole  matter  may  be  found  in  the  old  rule,  "Do 
unto  others  as  you  would  have  other'J  do  unto  you." 

Boost,  brother,  boost!     Don't  knock. 


i 


!      / 


' 


"  What  a  mighty  power  there  is  that  regulation  of 
an  establishment  secured  by  cheerful  willinjrness  among 
all  concerned  to  carry  out  the  lawa;  a  willingness  that 
makes  every  member  of  the  organization  an  agent  in  the 
interests  of  its  common  good!" 

[55] 


i  ^ 

I; 


ii^ 


■k 


4i'Jf*^'^ ^y 


3Ien  Who  Sell  Things 

"  In  tin-  uuid  and  scum  of  things, 
Soniefhin/»  always,  always  sings." 

"Drop  an  unkind  word,  or  careless  —  in  a  minute  it  is  gone, 

An<l  there's  half  a  hundred  ripples  circling  on,  and  on,  and 
on; 

Tlioy  keep  sprcadinn;.  spreading,  sjireading  from  the  centre 
as  they  go. 

And  there  ain't  no  v.jiy  fo  sf<»i)  ihem,  once  you've  started 
them  to  flow. 

Drop  an  imkind  word,  or  careless  —  in  a  minute  you  forget. 

But  there  's  little  waves  a-flowing,  and  there  's  rip{)len  cir- 
cling yet; 

An«l  perhaps  in  some  sad  heart  a  mighty  wave  of  tears 
you  've  stirrc-d. 

And  distur!)ed  a  life  that's  happy,  when  you  dropped 
that  unkind  word." 


166) 


ohaoJ 


1 


T}i€  Order-Taker 


*   t 


n 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  ORDER-TAKER 

IVs  a  good  thincf  for  the  man  who  loolin  at 
the  corns  on  his  hands  to  remember  that 
on  Easij  Street  the  corns  are  on  the  Ju-art. 

THE  Order-taker  and  the  Drone  are  identical. 
Men  of  this  stamp  while  waiting  for  an  in- 
spiration would  find  success  at  once,  if  they  were 
not  so  afraid  of  a  little  perspiration. 

The  Salesman  goes  out  and  digs  up  business, 
while  the  Order-taker  just  shambles  around,  waiting 
to  be  fed,  like  the  hippopotamus  in  the  menagerie. 
The  only  difference  is  that  his  capacity  is  more 
limited.  Even  having  things  thrown  to  liirn  worries 
and  wearies  him.  j\Ient;.l  or  physical  courage  is 
lacking  in  his  make-up  to  the  extent  that  an}ihing 
fike  effort  of  any  sort  is  oreign  to  his  comprehension 
when  it  is  necessary  to  go  after  business. 

As  says  the  rag-time  song,  the  Drone  aimlessly 
/panders  through  life  in  the  atmosphere  of  —  "I 
Jon't  know  where  I'm  going,  but  I'm  on  my  way." 
He  is  bright  nough  in  many  respects,  but  a  natural 
bom  ne'er-do-well. 

Imagine  a  salesman  with  just  sufficient  energy 
to  send  out  advance  canls  and  check  trunks  from 
one  town  to  another;    whose  sole  uuibiliou  seems 

[57] 


i 


1/ 


Mefi  Who  Sell  Things 

centred  in  drawing  his  breath  nnd  his  pay,  and 
you  hav»!  a  Ufe-size  picture  of  the  Order-takov. 

The  Order-taker  drops  out  of  the  race  at  the 
first  wayside  shelter  on  the  slope  of  Mount  Success; 
but  he  is  a  difTerent  tyiw  from  the  Knocker,  as  he 
does  no  actual  harm,  though  he  fails  to  get  anywlicre. 
Besides,  knocking  requires  energy,  even  if  perverted. 
The  mediocre  capacity  must  be  eked  out  by  brave 
resolve  and  persistent  effort. 

AMien  the  old  lady  was  training  her  son  for  the 
trapeze,  the  boy  made  three  or  four  rather  inef- 
fectual efforts  to  get  over  the  bai.  Then  she  was 
heard  to  suggest:  "John  Henrj'  llobbs,  if  you 
will  just  throw  your  heart  over  the  bar,  your  body 
will  follow ." 

And  thus  it  is  with  the  salesman  who  is  incHned 
to  take  things  easy.  //  he  will  just  throw  his  heart 
into  his  work,  success  will  follow,  and  then  he  will 
see  the  em'jjoyer's  and  employee's  interests  going 
forward  hand  in  hand,  as  they  should  go,  supporting 
each  other. 

William  Matthews,  at  one  time  Professor  of 
EngUsh  Literature  in  the  Chicago  University, 
writing  on  the  subject  Self-reliance,  in  "  Getting  On 
in  the  World,"  says: 

"A  lobster,  wlien  left  high  and  dry  among  the  rocks, 
has  not  instinct  and  oncrgy  enough  '-^  work  his  way  Hack  tn 
the  sea,  but  waits  for  the  sea  to  come  to  him.     If  it  does 

[58] 


rtMM*i 


The  Order- Take?- 

not  comt-.  he  remains  whcrt-  !»e  is.  and  ilies,  although  the 
slightest  effort  would  enable  him  to  reach  tlic  wavei,  which 
are  perhaps  tossing  and  tumbliug  within  a  yard  of  him." 

The  world  is  full  of  human  lobsters,  men 
stranded  on  the  rocks  of  business,  who,  instead  of 
putting  forth  their  ov  n  encr^'ics,  are  wailing  for 
some  grand  billow  of  good  fortimr  to  set  them  afloat. 
There  are  many  young  men  of  vivid  imaginations, 
who,  instead  of  carrying  their  own  burdens,  are 
always  dreaming  or  some  Hercules  coming  to  give 
them  a  lift. 

"  The  hardest  furtiiiw  of  all  is  to  find  fortune 

ea»Uy." 

Good  hard  work  is  on«>  of  the  richest  blessings 
that  God  has  given  man.  The  Idler,  the  Drone,  the 
Onlor-taker,  or  whatever  we  may  choose  to  call 
him,  either  in  salesmanship  or  out  of  it, —  the  man 
who  fails  to  make  the  most  of  his  privilege  to  work 
and  amount  to  something,— sins  not  only  against 
his  Maker,  but  against  himself  and  society. 

Many  an  othervvise  good  salesman  lias  remained 
all  his  life  in  the  light-weight  class,  solely  because  he 
lacked  faith  in  himself. 

"Faith  is  the  lever  that  moves  mountains." 

"  Faith  is  not  faith  until  it  gets  into  your  fingers 
and  your  feet." 

Faith  begets  faith.  The  salesman  who  has 
faith  in  himself  ha>  faith  in  his  territory  and  faith 

[59] 


|t| 


I 


II 


Mert   II    .,  S        Thi    ^ 


in  his  oust-  fis  frn-iloyt-rs  and  >  customers, 
seeing  t  to  stn-ngth  of  ,i.,  posiHon,  pli<  c  fhnr  faith 
in  hitii  i   so, 

Tlierc"  i  no  standa'-d  bmad  enonph  or  high 
enoufjh  with  which  to  nuasure  thr  valiio  of  I'ailh 
•II    the   cofirnorcial    world.     It    is    the    .v!r»ha    f*   d 

)niega     •"  all  l>u-  ness  .    tivity.     It        \\xv  jruiuin 
star,  -heading  its  I. earns    >f  tnist,  eonnden       \:mhi- 
wiJI,  a     1    _iM)d-(  lu't-r  ah)t  .,'  the   })athway 
successful  trainsa'     on,  lai       or  sumll.      Tl 
hi     absolutely  lio       «('         ithout   ?aith;    'k 
indis{)en    d>leness  »-;  a   comnierci,.     assi 

The    -;i    siiian     t"  little  faith   in    lir 
ouiv    •nv.-lijpetl  i?'    ioubt  and  ni^tru 
abi'       t»'    "in  li  i  ismiself  is  con«i'rn» 
in  osi»Hii    his  emph'  au< 

W(«  ki         .s   gs  ii    Uie  balance     th         !■ 
for         ^  ^  tu  the  li   ;!;!».uin.     K    i 
ill-nature<t,  and   pf»>t«tM3ded  in 
inp«wMuitv,  and  h«      «on  drops  int 
the    arge  class  '>t      float  ere"  Wi 
looking  1'     u  jot). 

A  nates-man,  io  xvcceea,  mint  not  only  have  faith 
in  himseij  but  jaith  ^n  the  article  he  it  selling.  He 
should  approach  his  custcnu  •  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  leave  nc  )om  for  doubt  t  it  h'^  himself  believes 
what  he  say-     f  the  article  he  hHi^       sell. 

In  a  s.witsman  of  this  character,  faith  is  the 
[60J 


(    ery 

Mi 

ir<^ 

lot 

his 

it  his  faith 

'  i-  idlow- 

!■  lanees 

ipt   o  1^      <>evish, 

ere  of 

r  joins 

jntinually 


1 


Tl. 


The  Order- Taker 

source  oi"  ourat^v,  in  lustry,  id  persevere  i<'e.  It 
makes  f  him  a  stron;' personality  He  s  riuounts 
all  trouoii  s  hy  Hint  of  liin  own  energy.  His  name 
spells  S-r-C  '  -E  S-S 

SoiP'      'ne   ha:i   said ;         The   trouble   wii  li 
many  )  >unj^  men  is    .,  t  ti  s-ir  uislibones  are  wlui-e 
their  ba<  kbon<     ouf»ht  to  Ije." 

\  piacti        ps}   hologist  asks  tlie  <juestion: 

">id  you  ever  say  '  F  -in '  and  '  I  will '  witli  the  sfronj; 
feelin?  hat  you  spoke  I  truth'  If  so.  von  then  felt 
withi  yuu  the  thrill  vvhi<  seems  ,  cause  every  atom  c»f 
your  bein^  to  vibrate  in  liarmon\  with  some  note  in  the 
grand  ^rale  of  life  which  lias  lM>en  somuied  by  die  I  AM  — 
the  re      sell'. 

■  f  SI  vou  canpht  a  momentary  glinips*-  of  the  in'  r 
light;  'ii  a  note  of  the  sons  of  t'e  soul;  ^''  *"'"  i"onsciuu- 
for  a  moment  of  yours<>if,  and  in  'i;it  m>.in<'  '  yon  knew 
that  untold  jwwer  and  '»es  w-*re  yrHr        Y-n  felt 

somehow  that  you  W'  '  i 

strength,  knowledi."". ' 
you  were  equal  to 
dertaking.     All  tin 
key  with  vonr  tliuu- 


Sam  JoiK'», 
on  Faith,  once  s;i; 


!'ct  innp 


■'Von  well  know  it  is  'o  pu^  oold  c.'Uar. 

It  takes  a  1,' >od  fame  hor-    .u<i>i'       You  m'      him  ur    -t  a 
col  1,  frost V  morning,  hitch  hi      \o      big  .  ic  sets 

to  aid  pulls  it  off  like  a  mule.  -  what  -     eau  a  work 

of  lauu,  it  15  pUj;ing  u-.i  a  -^--lu-    -Ola:  i  ■■■^•.  -— .-:-j  --       -'^r 

vou  can  hitch  to  a  tree  ois  a    -ostv  mo      np   itnd  tie  \'  ill 


If 


s 

i 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

make  a  hundred  set  pulls  at  it.    That  is  what  we  caU  a 
work  of  faith, —  pulling  on  a  cold  collar. 

"I  knew  a  fellow  once  who  had  a  wagon-load  of  wood 
to  haul  t(.  vamp,  and  it  was  a  cold  morning.  He  hitched  up 
his  horses;,  but  they  would  not  pull  a  pound.  He  put  a 
boy  on  each  horse,  and  'hen  ran  them  up  and  down,  riding 
about  two  or  three  miles,  and  got  them  warmed  up,  and 
then  hitched  them  up,  and  they  pulled  right  off." 

A  dog  wi!!  run  a  rabbit  when  he  feels  like 
doing  it,  and  when  he  doesn't  feel  like  it  he 
won't. 

A  salesman  of  faith  will  show  you  what  he  is  by 
what  he  does.  If  you  will  find  me  a  salesman  who 
is  busy  for  his  house,  I  will  show  you  a  salesman  that 
has  works  of  faith  and  will  do  his  duty  whether  he 
feels  like  it  or  not. 

Some  salesmen  think  that  if  they  do  a  thing 
when  they  do  not  feel  like  it,  they  are  hypocrites. 
Well,  we  will  talk  about  that  some  other  time. 

"I  feel  it  is  my  duty  to  do  so  and  so." 

Sing  it  out;  you  have  heard  such  salesmen, 
haven't  you } 

I  tell  you  what  it  is:  to  a  real  live  wide-awake 
salesman,  his  work  is  a  pleasure;  it  is  a  privilege. 
All  others  should  keep  in  mind  the  business  aphor- 
ism, "  They  who  do  no  more  than  they  are  paid  for 
get  paid  for  no  more  than  they  do." 

You  know,  when  they  first  built  engines,  they 
put  only  two  wheels  on  them.    Thev  would  run  nnd 


mmmm 


The  Order-Taker 


make  schedule  time,  but  schedule  lime  was  only 
just  three  miles  an  hour,  and  it  was  all  they  could  do 
to  pull  one  car.  After  a  while  they  put  a  jack 
under  that  engine  and  put  eight  more  wheels  under 
it,  making  ten  in  all;  and  that  engine  will  cut 
along  at  the  rate  of  fifty  miles  an  hour,  and  will  pull 
forty  cars  if  you  couple  them  on. 

And  then  came  the  "great  moguls";  those 
great  living,  snorting,  p'-ancing  things  of  finest  steel, 
with  a  speed  of  seventy  or  eighty  miles  an  hour. 
That  is  the  difference  between  the  little  two-wheeled 
fellow  and  the  sort  they  run  now  That  is  the  dif- 
ference between  the  Order-taker  and  the  profes- 
sional salesman.  There  are  plenty  of  little  two- 
wheelers  in  the  business  world.  Brother,  cut  that 
two-wheeled  business  out,  if  you  ever  hope  to  make 
a  schedule  of  more  than  three  miles  an  hour. 

What  would  you  think  of  a  man  starting  from 
home  who  would  go  trotting  down  the  railroad  on 
foot  ?  You  ask  him  why  he  does  n't  take  the  cars, 
and  he  answers :  "  Well,  I  feel  it  is  my  duty  to  go 
on  foot." 

I  remember  verj'  v^ll  one  of  these  two-wheeled 
men.  He  crossed  my  h  when  I  had  been  out  on 
the  road  about  three  or  »our  years.  It  was  a  *'Ships- 
that-pass-in-the-night "  sort  of  experience,  which 
leaves  behind  the  shadowy  impression  that  some- 
thing crossed  vour  bow  in  the  fading  light,  but  yoi' 

[m] 


1-. 

it  k 


m 


i 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

could  not  make  out  just  what  manner  of  craft  it 
was,  or  where  it  hailed  from. 

I  had  been  out  on  my  advance  trip  with  a  line 
of  ostrich  goods  and  velvets,  and  was  winding  up 
the  last  week  of  an  unusually  successful  Fall  business, 
when  I  was  suddenly  stricken  with  a  serious  case  of 
blood-poisoning,  contracted  from  opening  a  water- 
blister  on  my  hand  with  a  rusty  knife-blade.  I  was 
working  on  my  way  home  from  northern  Michigan, 
and  had  but  a  few  towns  left,  when  the  doctor  ordered 
me  to  take  the  first  train  home  and  see  a  first-class 
surgeon,  adding  that  I  had  no  time  to  lose  if  I 
valued  my  life. 

I  hesitated  about  taking  \as  advice,  hating  to 
give  up  a.  winning  streak  of  business;  besides,  I 
knew  that  my  rival  salesman  from  our  house  waa 
working  might  and  main  to  nose  me  out  of  first  place 
on  the  sales  list.  That  was  not  all.  In  the  next 
town  I  had  a  slim  hold  on  an  account  that  had  started 
new  the  season  before,  and  as  I  was  out  ahead  of 
my  competitors,  I  felt  that  my  chances  were  good 
to  sell  the  customer  his  opening  Fall  bill.  The  doc- 
tor finally  convinced  me  that  a  dead  salesman  was  of 
very  little  use;  and  not  wishing  to  shuflBe  off  this 
mortal  coil  at  the  very  outset  of  my  career,  I  went 
home  and  remained  there  for  three  weeks. 

I  worried  and  chafed  under  my  enforced  idle- 
ness, realizing  that  before  I  could  get  back  to  that 

{64  J 


I 


v 


■^r'li< 


The  Order- Taker 

town  and  my  new  customer,  the  country  wr  uld  be 
full  of  millinery  salesmen  just  as  eager  for  t  at  first 

bill  as  I  was. 

As  soon  as  convalescence  set  in,  I  wired  him  the 
exact  date  of  my  arrival,  »nd  not  waiting  for  the 
ban.  ages  to  come  off,  with  my  arm  still  in  a  sling,  I 
set  out  to  do  the  best  I  could  in  handling  my  trunks 
with  the  aid  of  porters  and  fellow-travellers. 

I  arrived  on  schedule  time.  Jumping  out  of 
the  bus,  I  did  not  stop  to  register,  but  called  to  the 
porter  to  throw  my  trunks  into  the  best  sample-room 
he  had,  and  was  off  Uke  a  shot  for  my  customer's 

jtore. 

Entering,  I  was  filled  with  misgivings,  b^M  ex- 
pecting some  salesman  had  been  there  and  secured 
that  much-coveted  bill  ahead  of  me.  I  greeted  him 
with  as  much  confidence  as  my  shaken  faith  would 
permit.     I  expected  It;  almost  the  fiist  thing  he  said 

was,  "  A  new  man  from &  Co.  was  here  a  few 

days  ago."  But  my  hopes  arose  when  he  added, 
"  But  I  did  n't  buy  anything  from  him.  His  samples 
were  not  opened,  unJ  he  came  in  sort  o'  looking  as  if 
he  expected  to  be  turned  down.  I  really  did  want 
to  see  his  line,  and  might  have  given  him  an  order, 
having  heard  his  house  well  spoken  of;  but  I  guess 
my  greeting  was  kind  c  i*  cold.  'NATien  I  said  I  did  n't 
wa'  anytliing  anyway,  and  as  long  -ns  his  samples 
were  not  unpacked  I  would  n't  have  him  go  io  the 

[65] 


Si] 


1 1 


H 


11 


i:i    I 


> 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

trouble  of  opening  tnem  just  for  me,  as  it  would  n't 
pay  liim,  he  waited  around  for  a  few  minutes  for 
further  confirmation,  and  then  explained  that,  owing 
to  his  big  territory  and  being  late,  he  was  making 
towns  pretty  fast,  and  that  if  there  was  n't  much  I 
wanted  he  'd  see  me  next  trip.  But  I  don't  believe 
he  will  ever  make  another,  do  you  ?" 

I  thought  as  he  did  about  it,  and  it  afterAvards 
proved  that  we  were  both  right.  To  make  a  long 
rfory  short,  my  friend  told  me  just  about  what  he- 
had  said  to  the  other  fellow  —  that  he  did  n't  want 
much,  and  he  had  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would 
wait  until  he  m  ent  to  market  to  do  his  buying. 

I  reminded  him  of  his  desire  to  see &  Co.'s 

Bne,  adding  that  as  he  was  the  only  customer  there, 
I  was  obliged  to  remain  all  the  afternoon  anyway,  and 
would  rather  put  in  the  time  showing  him  the  line 
than  lie  around  the  hotel  office  doing  nothing. 

It  was  not  easy  to  budge  him,  but  he  finally  said, 
"  Well,  my  boy,  if  you  have  got  grit  enough  to  un- 
pack your  stuff  with  a  game  arm,  just  to  show  me 
your  line,  I  guess  I  can  find  time  to  run  over  to  the 
sample-room  a  little  later." 

He  came  before  I  was  through  unpacking  and 
stayed  long  enough  to  give  me  a  bill  for  over  one 
thousand  dollars,  and  helped  me  to  pack  up  when  we 
were  through. 

No,  he  did  n't  buy  from  me  out  of  sympathy  for 
1  66  i 


*  «' 


The  Order 'Taker 

my  crippled  condition.     He  was  too  good  a  meTchant 
for  that. 

On  leaving,  he  said  half  to  himself  but  loud 
enough  for  me  to  hear,  "  Most  curious  fellow  I  ever 
saw."  Then  aloud  to  rae,  "Likely  I  would  have 
given  him  the  bill  I  ha  /e  given  you  if  he  had  n't  been 
so  confounded  lazy." 

^Vliile  leaning  back  in  the  cushions,  bumping 
along  over  the  ties,  did  you  ever  say  to  yourself, 
"  If  I  am  a  salesman,  I  'm  going  to  be  one  all  over, 
through  and  through;  but  I  won't  be  a  little,  old, 
dri(Hl-up,  knock-kneed,  one-horse,  shrivelled  noth- 
ing, anywhere  "  ? 

Have  n't  you  had  a  desire  to  rise  above  the  sight 
of  the  kind  of  1  tie  fellow  that  you  can  pack  in  a 
sardine-box  with  nineteen  others  ?  You  have  never 
known  much  about  salesmanship  if  you  have  never 
felt  in  your  soul  that  you  wanted  to  be  somebody  — 
something  —  so  big  that  you  could  fly  up,  and  up, 
and  up.  If  you  have  had  this  sensation,  then  you 
know  something  about  what  salesmansliip  is. 

Well,  now,  your  house  acts  on  the  principle  that 
each  individual  employee  takes  part  in  forming  that 
house.  If  your  employer  has  forty-five  salesmen  in 
his  house,  and  fifteen  of  them  are  good  salesmen,  who 
love  their  house  and  their  goods,  and  thirty  others 
who  arc  indifferent  and  careless,  then  you  see  what 
sort  of  house  he  has  —  two-thirds  of  his  sales-force 

(67] 


i  m 


iii 


1 


( /, 


I    i 


I 


L>     i 


> 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

away  from  loyal  duty,  and  one-third  hustling  to  in- 
crease the  business. 

With  forty-five  salesmen  on  the  force  and  only 
fifteen  of  them  active,  that  house  has  all  it  can  do  to 
look  after  those  thirty  invalids,  and  has  no  time  to  go 
out  for  new  business. 

Don't  you  see  ? 

To  succeed,  you  must  compli/  nnth  all  the  condi- 
tions Of  ymir  house.  You  might  ask  me :  "  WTiat  do 
you  mean  by  conditions  r " 

Railroads  carry  you,  for  instance,  on  certain 
conditions.  I  know  of  but  two  —  one  is  that  you  get 
your  ticket;  theother  that  you  get  aboard.  And  just 
as  soon  as  you  comply  with  these  conditions,  then  all 
the  speed  in  that  engine  and  all  the  comfort  of  that 
coach  are  yours  to  your  destination.  And  when  a 
salesman  obeys  the  orders  of  his  house  and  backs 
them  up  with  intelligent  service,  the  success  of  that 
house  is  his  success  also.  And  the  salesman  must 
learn  this  fact. 

It  is  not  so  much  a  question  of  who  I  am,  but 
with  what  am  I  intrusted .''  There  is  a  great  deal  in 
that. 

I  start  to  cross  the  Atlantic  in  a  })apcr  box,  and 
as  soon  as  my  box  gets  wet  it  comes  to  pieces,  and 
down  it  goes  and  I  go  with  it.  If  I  start  in  one  of 
those  grand  ocean  steamers,  then  all  the  strength  in 
her  hull,  and  all  the  power  in  her  boilers,  and  all  the 

[68  J 


k 


1'ifi'-  &.>.<«: -^Jk.^iC' 


*  T; 


The  Order- Taker 

skill  of  her  officers  are  mine,  and  I'll  never  go  down 
until  she  does. 

If  I  commit  myself  to  my  own  weaknesses,  I  am 
no  stronger  than  they;  but  if  I  commit  myself  to  the 
best  there  is  in  my  profession,  and  the  best  there  is  in 
my  house,  I'll  never  go  down  until  it  goes  down,  with 
bright,  energetic  men  pumping  a  constant  stream  of 
new  life  into  it.  Its  course  is  upward,  its  sales  in- 
creasing all  the  way  along. 

Just  a  word  to  the  salesman  of  the  Order-taker 
class,  in  whom  tiiere  is  yet  a  possibility  of  "  warming 

up. 

Business  opportunities,  like  orders,  are  not 
waiting  around  to  ho  served  on  silver  platters.  You 
must  dig  for  them. 

"The  salesman  .stimulates  desire  and  really  sells 
something." 

Arthur  F.  Sheldon,  president  of  the  Sheldon 
School  of  Business  Science,  .uid  foiuidcrof  Ihe  Science 
of  Salesmanship,  is  without  doubt  the  greatest  author- 
ity on  salesmanship  of  any  time.  To  him  can  be 
attributed  the  statement: 

"There  are  ten  thousand  positions  to-day  in  Chicago 
which  are  open  to  salesmen  of  liigh  grade  at  salaries  that  are 
almost  for  the  specialists  to  name  and  take  for  the  asking. 

"Within  it  almost  every  man  can  find  his  place,  pre 
rided  he  has  that  one  thing  desired  and  desirable  —  infor- 
mation and  knowledge  of  a  highly  specialized  character, 
with  a  courage  necessary  to  back  it  up." 

[69] 


/•  j! 


Mill 


1  f* 


Men  Who  Sell  Tlmigs 


\ 


'-1 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  FUSSY  OR  OVER-ANXIOUS  SALESMAN 

Whosoever  is  in  a  hurry  shows  that  the 
thing  he  is  about  to  do  is  too  big  for  him. 
Haste  and  hurry  are  very  different  things. 

fTlHE  Fussy  salesman  is  generally  visionary  and  a 
A  good  talker,  judging  from  the  ease  with  which 
he  dispenses  the  "silvern"  article.  Oh,  no!  a  little 
thing  Uke  talk  never  troubles  him.  It  ooz^s  away 
like  molasses  from  a  stave-sprung  barrt..  Once 
fairly  started,  you  might  as  well  try  to  stop  Niagara 
Falls  as  ♦^  chut  h;»»  oiT.  i^ontrol  ?  It  is  as  foreign 
to  bim  as  to  a  kite  without  a  tail.  The  speed  with 
which  he  can  talk  a  customer  into  a  sale  and  out 
again  causes  the  Twentieth  Centurj-  Limited  to  look 
like  a  snow-plough  doing  duty  on  a  narrow-gauge 
track. 

Talk  is  a  mighty  necessary  thing  in  salesman- 
ship, but  an  equally  important  thing  is  to  know  when 
to  stop  talking.  And  the  most  essential  thing  of  all 
is  to  know  haiv  to  talk  r.nd  what  to  talk  about. 

The  garrulous  salesman  is  a  blue-white  optimist, 
seeing  figures  that  exist  only  in  the  fluffy  atmosphere 
in  which  he  soars  and  soars.  A  few  pounds  of  ballast 
accidentally  taken  aboard  now  and  then  allows  him 
to  navigate  his  airship  close  enough  to  reaUty  in 

[TO] 


U 


mUBim 


ammgg^^Oittuum 


>.!. 


%^ 


The  Fussy  or  Oirr- Anxious  Salesntan 

sales-making  to  convince  tlio  sales  manager  that  he  is 
not  entirely  shut  out  from  view  above  the  clouds  of 
lost  opportunities.     In  his  futile  efforts  to  "land" 
something  worth  while,  he  drifts  aimlessly  about  with 
his  drag-ropes  out,  lightly  raking  the  field  of  oppor- 
tunities over  which  he  circles.     If  nothing  goes  wrong 
with  the  gas-bag,  he  feels  that  surely  sooner  or  later 
he  will  hover  long  enough  in  the  vicinity  of  a  real  prop- 
osition to  permit  his  anchor  to  grapple  and  hold  fast. 
It  generally  happens  that  while  this  aerial  per- 
formance is  going  on  and  his  customer's  patience  is 
being   tried   with   trifling   things   and    meaningless 
sentences,  Mr.  Get  Busy  Salesman  comes  along  and 
scoops  up  orders  right  and  left  under  his  very  nose. 

The  salesman  who  wears  his  customer  out  with 
visionary  yams  about  himself,  anvl  wliat  he  intends 
to  do  but  really  never  does,  will  amount  to  nothing 
more  than  a  putterer.  He  is  a  constant  source  of 
concern  to  his  house,  until,  conscious  at  last  that 
"  the  jig  is  up,"  he  takes  himself  off  to  other  pastures 
where  the  grass  looks  greener.  He  floats  around 
from  one  house  to  another,  until,  to  his  dismay,  the 
truth  is  at  last  forced  upon  him  that  the  richest  fields 
on  earth  are  not  for  him  to  enjoy.  Passing  into 
oblivion  is  with  him  like  the  character  in  "David 
Harum,"  on  the  death  of  whom,  his  neighbors,  ask- 
ing what  was  the  complaint,  were  told,  "No  com- 
plaint at  all;  everybody  is  satisfied." 

[71] 


h 


r'  it 


1 


I  I' 


Men  Who  Sell  T/iin^s 

The  F  isy  salesmau  and  his  Over-anxioua 
brother  are  in  the  same  class  in  many  respects. 
Each  in  liis  own  way  fails  to  accomplish  results. 
There  is  hope  that  the  latter  will  eventually  enter 
Into  an  active  sphere  of  usefulness  on  learning  how 
to  temper  liis  anxiety  with  a  reasonable  amount  of 
judgment  by  ai<i  of  the  rugged  road  Experience. 
The  former  may  as  well  quit  where  he  is  and  enguge 
in  some  other  Hne  of  busuiess. 

Zeal  is  an  admirable  and  necessary  quality  in 
successful  salesmanship,  the  excess  of  which  rarely 
develops  into  a  permanent  or  fatal  malady.  True, 
pitfalls  are  encountered  now  and  then,  but  there  is 
always  a  chance  for  the  man  with  this  failing,  if  he  is 
honestly  desirous  of  getting  on  in  the  world;  while 
for  the  Fussy  fellow  there  is  but  a  forlorn  hope.  He 
never  seems  to  know  how  to  get  right  down  to  busi- 
ness in  dead  earnest. 

At  times  I  like  to  indulge  in  base-ball  parlance, 
adapting  the  expressions  of  those  engaged  in  the  fin- 
est of  all  outdoor  sports,  the  National  Game,  to  the 
(jualities  necessary-  in  strictly  up-to-the-minute  busi- 
ness getting.  Slogans  of  the  diamond,  such  as  ''  gin- 
ger up,"  "get  in  the  game,"  "it  only  takes  one  to  hit 
it,"  and  "  take  a  long  l^ad  off,"  are  quite  appropriate 
in  salesmanship,  and  can  be  adopted  with  good  effect. 

Just  here  I  am  forcibly  reminded  of  a  character 
known  as  Fritz,  who  hned  up  with  mv  home  town 

[72] 


1 


The  Fussy  or  Over-Aticcimis  Salesman 

bane-ball  team.  It  was  in  the  year  1905.  The  leani 
was  making  desperate  efforts  j)onnantwnrd.  The 
securing  of  that  much-prized  "  rag  "  largely  depended 
on  the  batting  strength  of  the  team.  In  evcrj'  other 
respect  they  were  thoroughly  efficient  candidates 
for  the  high  honor  that  every  man  on  the  team  was 
struggling  with  might  and  main  to  secure. 

Fritz,  the  catcher,  was  one  of  the  best  in  the 
business,  but  when  his  batting  qualities  were  in  ques- 
tion he  made  an  ordinary  "  sand-lotter "  look  like  a 
National  Leaguer.  It  was  always  Fritz's  turn  to  bat 
just  when  a  hit  was  most  nei'ded  to  win  the  game. 
His  intentions  were  of  the  best  when  he  walked  up  to 
select  his  club.  Most  likely  Fritz  had  never  been 
told  about  the  place  that  is  paved  Avith  good  inten- 
tions; but  the  "fans"  had,  and  when  they  saw  him 
walk  up  to  the  plate  their  stock  went  down  several 
points. 

The  moment  Fritz  faced  the  pitcher  he  was  at- 
tacked with  stage-fright,  a; id  danced  up  and  down 
so  that  he  could  not  get  his  eye  on  the  ball  to  save  his 
life.  He  just  stood  there  like  the  Fussy  salesman 
and  fanned  and  faimed  and  fanned,  until  the  umpire 
called  him  out  on  strikes.  His  long  suit  was  "  hitting 
the  air,"  and  he  wa    never  broken  of  that  habit. 

A  good  story  is  related  of  two  men,  both  expert 
swimmers,  living  in  an  American  city.  Their  pow- 
ers of  endurance  was  the  subject  of  admiring  com- 

[73] 


m 

i 


iggi 


I 
> 

i 


u 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

Dient  among  their  friends,  who  indijioil  thftia  to  rom- 
p^te  in  a  swimming-match.  There  was  neither 
wager  nor  prize,  hut  only  a  friendly  content  to  deter- 
rnin«'  which  was  the  better  swimmer,  there  being  an 
understanding  that  the  backer  of  the  loser  should 
jav  for  ft  '  siuner  for  the  whole  company  of  s{)ectfttors. 

^\^len  the  trial  begun  for  hmg-distanee  swim- 
ming, one  of  the  contestants  dmdt-d  that  he  would 
force  the  }>ace  from  the  outset.  lie  shot  ahead  with 
vigorous,  powerful  strokes,  and  left  his  antagonist 
some  tlistance  behind.  His  friends  cheered  him 
exultantly  from  the  shore,  and  shoute<l  to  him  to 
keep  up  his  good  work.  Excited  by  these  outcries, 
he  redoubled  liis  exertions  and  increased  his  lead 
rapidly 

M  anwhile,  his  compi-titor  was  swimming  with 
steadiness,  w'th  a  stroke  which  he  could  easily 
maintain  for  the  whole  distance.  He  was  iioi  discon- 
certed by  the  i  i  antic  appeals  of  his  friends  to  quicken 
his  stroke.  He  was  confident  that  his  competitor 
was  exhausting  himself  by  over-exertion  at  the  out- 
set, and  that  the  race  would  be  won  before  it  was 
more  than  half  finished. 

The  two  swimmers  kept  on  without  changing 
their  tactics  until  the  half-distance  stake  was  not  far 
away.  The  leader  had  ceased  to  gain  upon  his 
rival,  who  was  beginning  to  lessen  the  distance  be- 
tween them.     The  first  man  was  shoviing  signs  of 

[74] 


^MM 


mm 


The  Fhissy  or  Over-An^viotu   Saleamni 


distress,  while  the  other  was  swimming  oaaily  ru4 
was  apparently  as  fresh  as  when  he  Ntaried.  At  t  « 
stake  the  leader  threw  up  his  hands  acd  cried  out  t(, 
his  rival  to  c«>me  to  his  jfid.  liie  second  tnan.  call- 
ing upon  his  icsiTve  power,  forged  ahead  w.ih  i\  ;ew 
strong  strokes,  and  came  up  in  time  to  'Uve  the  ex- 
h/uisted  leader  from  drowning. 

"  Help  me  ashore!"  gasj)eti  the  exhausted  man. 
"  The  race  is  yours.    You  need  n(,t  finish  the  course." 

The  weaker  man  was  kept  afloat  until  a  boat 
could  he  sent  to  rescue  him.  Then  the  stronger 
man  turned  the  .stak^  and  completed  the  course, 
swimming  witli  the  same  long,  deliberate  stroke 
with  which  he  had  set  out.  Wlicn  he  went  ashore 
to  receive  the  congratulations  of  his  friends  he  was 
apparently  none  the  worse  for  his  prolonged  exercise 
in  the  water.  His  success  was  a  triumph  of  judg- 
ment rather  than  of  expert  skill  or  physical  endur- 
ance, while  the  other  exhausted  himself  !)y  over- 
straining unnecessarily  in  the  first  half-mile. 

That  swin;':  i  :g-match  is  a  j)arable  illustrative  of 
many  a  failure  in  salesmanship  and  of  many  a  suc- 
cessful career.  Nothing  is  more  dangerous  than 
Fussiness  or  Over-anxiety  in  sales-making.  It  is  the 
'ong,  steady,  deliberate  stroke,  with  unused  power 
in  reserve  behind  it,  that  wins  lasting  success  for  the 
salesman,  ard  makes  him  a  candidate  eventually  for 
a  junior  partnership  in  his  house. 

[75] 


H 


i  ii 


r 


I  ^'1 


I..) 


rii 


if 


Men  Who  Sell  Thinga 

I  once  had  a  friend  who  worked  his  way  up  in 
the  dry-goods  business  from  floor-walker  in  a  retail 
store  to  the  position  of  assistant  silk-buyer  in  a  large 
wholesale  house.  The  firm  of  which  I  was  a  raem- 
ber  was  situated  in  the  samt  block  as  the  one  in  which 
lie  was  employed.  He  came  into  my  office  one  day 
and  said :  "  I  want  your  advice.  We  started  together 
in  the  business  race,  but  apparently  you  have  been 
more  fortunate  than  I,  for  while  I  am  only  a  buyer's 
assistant,  you  are  close  to  the  head  of  your  own  con- 
cern.    What  is  your  formula  ?  " 

"No  formula,"  said  I.  '^ Every  man  is  the 
arbiter  of  hia  oivn  hv.s-i'ness  destiny  J" 

1  told  him  that  fortune  had  not  favored  me  any 
more  than  it  had  favored  him ;  that  I  did  not  believe 
in  fortune  anyway;  and  that  the  only  way  in  which 
the  success  of  any  man  could  be  achieved  was  by 
"  keeping  everlastingly  at  it."  I  knew  he  had 
changed  about  considerably,  and  when  he  had  seen 
an  opportunity  had  not  taken  advantage  of  it. 
Finally,  I  frankly  told  him  that  I  thought  in  his  case 
retanlcd  advancement  M'as  due  to  his  restless  dispo- 
sition more  than  to  any  other  one  thing.  He  seemed 
disposed  to  argue  the  question,  which  I  answered 
by  saving:  "In  every  large  institution  there  are 
many  opportunities  for  a  man  to  make  the  most  of 
himself  in  a  business  way." 

"  Opportunity,"  said  he,  "  that 's  it.  That  is 
[76] 


mM 


I 


^ 


The  Fussy  or  Ooer-Anximis  Salesman 

what  1  came  in  to  gee  you  about.  This  is  my  fourth 
year  with  my  present  firm,  and  while  they  are 
splendid  people,  I  see  no  chance  ahead  of  me  for  ad- 
vancement. At  least,  it  is  a  case  of  waiting  for  dead 
men's  shoes.  My  salary  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars 
a  year  is  inadequate  for  the  support  of  a  wife  and 
three  children.  I  have  an  offer  from  a  large  spe- 
cialty house  in  another  city  to  go  on  the  road  at  an 
increase  of  one  thousand  dollars,  and  it's  a  sore 
temptation;  yet  I  dislike  to  leave  t!ie  old  finn.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  duty  I  owe  my  family  is  staring 
me  in  the  face,  and  I  really  don't  know  what  to  do. 
What  do  you  think  of  it  ?  " 

"  Well,"  I  replied,  "  yovs  also  owe  it  to  your  firm 
and  yourself  lo  weigh  this  matter  up  very  carefully. 
Personally,  I  believe  in  '  sticking  to  the  busli.'  Your 
opportunity  will  come  in  time.  I  would  not  like  to 
advise  you  positively  in  a  matter  like  this.  A  thou- 
sand-dollar raise  is  a  big  thing  for  any  young  man, 
but  I  would  certainly  consult  with  my  firm,  if  I  were 
you,  before  doing  anything.  Put  the  matter  .square- 
ly before  them.  Let  them  advise  you.  They  will 
not  take  advantage  of  you,  and  will  no  doubt  make  it 
an  object  for  you  to  remain." 

Tie  departed,  promising  to  do  that,  but  the  next 
I  heard  from  him  was  that  he  had  accepted  the  offer 
made  by  the  specialty  house,  and  had  left  the  old 
firm,  where  he  was  well  regarded. 

[771 


M 


.-;:^j^ 


i 


.1  «j 


^sm 


!,) 


r  » 


(■i 


'■I 


if 


^ 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

Two  months  later  the  head  buyer  of  the  silk 
department  of  that  house  dropped  dead  in  the  office 
of  a  New  York  hotel,  and  my  friend's  old  firm  was 
obliged  to  go  outside  for  some  one  to  fill  his  place,  a 
position  that  paid  five  thousand  dollars  a  year  salary, 
into  which  there  was  not  the  slightest  doubt  he  would 
have  stepped  had  he  refused  the  ntlier  offer  and  re- 
mained where  he  was. 

Many  an  Over-anxious  salesman  fails  to  win 
ultimate  success  because  he  does  not  realize  the 
opportunity  that  awaits  him  through  conscientious, 
faithful  labor  and  continued  service  in  some  one 
place. 

The  calico-wrapper  opportunity  of  the  moment 
seems  to  obscure  his  vision  from  the  sealskin-sacque 
opportunity  of  tlie  future.  He  goes  through  life  with- 
out any  set  purpose  at  all,  with  face  turned  away 
from  the  future  and  its  rich  possibihties,  seemingly 
content  to  wander  along,  worrying  in  the  present, 
anxiously  occupied  with  a  supei*ficial  sur\-ey  of  things 
to  the  riglit  and  to  the  left,  but  never  ahead  and  be- 
yond. He  is  like  the  Uiun  who  was  so  intent  on 
walfliiDg  wliat  was  passing  in  the  street  that  he  failed 
to  notice  the  oj)en  -oal-hole  directly  in  his  patli,  until 
suddenly  he  found  to  his  astonishment  that  he  was 
rapidly  disappearing  into  inky  blackness. 

T  actually  knew  a  business  man  once  who  was 
(juite  liandv  witli  carpenter  tools  and  enjoyetl  his 

[78] 


i 


V        t 


The  Fussy  or  Ouer-Ana^ious  Salesman 

annual  outings  at  his  summer  home  tinkering  with 
all  sorts  of  odd  jobs  requiring  the  use  of  saw  and 
hammer.  It  occurred  to  him  one  day  to  build  a  boat- 
house  over  the  river  which  skirted  his  country'  place. 
While  sitting  on  a  scaffold  directly  over  the  river,  he 
was  engaged  in  putting  on  the  finishing  touches,  and 
found  it  necessary  to  saw  off  a  cleat  that  hindered  his 
work.  It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  last  day 
of  his  outing.  Desirous  of  finishing  his  work  before 
leaving  for  the  city,  he  was  rusliing  things.  Grab- 
bing a  saw,  he  began  with  vigor  to  despatch  what  he 
supposed  was  the  projecting  piece,  and  did  not  notice 
that  he  was  actually  sawing  into  the  scaffolding  on 
which  he  was  seated  instead  of  the  inoffensive  cleat. 
The  truth  finally  flashed  on  him  with  a  cnmching 
warning,  and  the  next  moment  he  found  hitnself 
floundering  in  the  river,  wildly  waving  his  saw  and 
calling  for  help. 

It  does  not  pay  to  rush  things.  The  Rome  of 
salesmanship  was  not  built  in  a  day. 

It  is  said  of  the  English  (icneral  Duller  tliat 
"  he  never  went  around  an^ihing  that  lie  could  butt 
his  head  through."  And  he  continued  that  course 
in  the  Boer  War,  bringing  all  manner  of  disaster 
upon  his  command,  which  caused  dread  anxiety  to 
the  home  authorities  until  his  recall  stopped  his  mad 
career.  He  was  replaced  by  Lord  Kitchener,  the 
tactician,   who  was   oliliged   to   overcome   BuUer's 

[79] 


i 


i 


I 


II 


m 


.A' 


1 


i 


v.i 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

blunders  before  he  could  hope  to  win  a  victory  for 
England's  forces,  which  he  did  in  the  end  by  his 
superior  generalsliip. 

The  salesman  u'ho  hopes  to  icin  real  success  must 
change  his  negative  qualities  into  positive  ones,  and 
then  stick  to  some  good  rciiahlc  house  where  his  chances 
for  growth  are  assured. 

Returning  from  luncheon  one  afternoon,  I  was 
stopped  just  across  the  street  from  my  ])lace  of  busi- 
ness by  a  young  man  wiiom  1  had  known  as  a  boy, 
but  had  forgotten.  Extending  his  hand,  he  said, 
"  Hello,  Mr.  !Moody !     I  )on't  you  remember  me  ?  " 

Failing  to  recognize  him  at  first,  I  replied: 
"You've  got  the  best  of  me  this  time,  my  fri.Mid. 
Your  face  seems  familiar.  l)ut  I   can't  recall  vour 


name. 


"^^'hv!"said  he, '"  mv  name  is  B- 


.     Don't 

you  remember  that  we  worked  together  as  boys  with 
the  old  firm  of  S.  L.  &  Co.'r  You  had  the  linen 
and  white-goods  stock,  and  I  had  the  laces,  just 
across  the  aisle." 

"Yes,"  1  replied,  "I  do  remember  you  now, 
but  that 's  a  long  time  ago,  and  many  changes  have 
taken  ])lace  on  the  street.  The  old  firm  has  retired 
from  business,  but  I  presume  you  are  still  in  the 
dry -goods  line." 

''  X<).  I  rem.iinod  Ihcrr  but  a  short  time  after 
you  left.     T  thought  T  wasn't   suited   to  that  line, 

[80] 


s-  ^ 


The  Fussy  or  Cher- Anxious  Salesman 

and  left  to  go  into  an  insurance  oflBce.  I  soon 
found  that  insurance  was  not  to  my  liking  either, 
and  then  I  tried  the  retail  dry-goods  business  for 
a  year  or  two.  Realizing  that  there  was  no  chance 
whatever  in  a  retail  store,  I  entered  a  business  col- 
lege to  study  bookkeeping,  but  left  the  course  un- 
finished on  being  told  that  if  I  intended  making 
office  work  ray  life's  aim  I  should  commence  at  the 
practical  end  of  things  by  taking  a  position  in  sonic 
large  office;  but — " 

Not  knowing  where  the  narrative  would  end, 
but  realizing  that  his  story  was  a  continued  one, 
I  interrupted  him  with  — 

"\\Tiiat  are  you  doing  now?" 

"  I  'm  studying  electrical  work  in  a  big  factory. 
No  doubt  there  is  a  great  field  in  that."  Then,  as 
if  by  second  nature,  he  asked:  "What  are  you 
domg  now?" 

Turning,  I  pointed  to  the  wholesale  store 
across  the  street  which  bore  my  name,  saving  simply, 
"I  am  connected  with  that  firm!" 

He  seemed  not  to  comprehend  for  a  moment, 
but  finally  gasped,  "You  don't  mean  to  say  that  you 
are  one  of  the  finn  ! " 

"Yes,"  I  said,  "I  am." 

"  Well !  How  on  earth  — "  His  face  reddened 
and  he  did  not  finish  what  he  was  going  to  say. 
Instead  he  turned  eagerly  to  me  with  — 

[81J 


'. 


1 


'- r '^^SiSCTLi^^ii 


i 


n 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

"Can't  jou  give  me  a  place  in  your  store? 
I  don't  get  much  pay  where  I  am.  Besides,  I  think 
that  if  I  could  get  in  with  some  one  who  knew  nie  and 
would  take  an  interest  in  me  I  could  do  much  better." 
And  then  came  the  wretched  ariiuission  that  he  was 
a  married  man  and  had  a  wife  and  two  children. 

I  knew  that  his  case  was  hopeless.  lie  had 
tried  and  condemned  himself  in  the  story  he  had 
related  of  his  wanderings,  hut  for  old  time':,  sake 
I  asked  him  to  call  at  our  office  the  next  day  and  I 
would  see  what  I  could  do  for  him.  We  needed  an 
extra  man  in  the  shipping  room,  and  gave  him  the 
place  at  a  weekly  salary  of  twelve  dollars — just 
double  the  amount  he  was  recei\ing  at  the  parting 
of  our  ways  twelve  years  before.  A  raise  of  fifty 
cents  a  week  per  year  for  twelve  years.  Think  of  it ! 
Yet  there  are  many  such  cases. 

I  heard  nothing  from  him  for  a  few  days,  and 
then  one  night  the  door-bell  rang  at  my  residence, 
and  our  new  assistant  shipping  clerk  was  shown  in. 
I  greeted  him  half-dressed,  as  I  was  going  out  for 
the  evening.  In  some  surprise  1  asked  him  what  I 
could  do  for  him. 

"Well,"  he  said,  '"you  must  excuse  me  for 
calling  at  vour  house,  but  as  you  have  bevn  kind  to 
me  I  thought  I  ought  to  call  and  tell  you  that  I  am 
afraid  I  cannot  do  the  work  you  have  put  me  at. 
I  don't  seem  to  understand  it,  and  rather  than  make 

[82J 


■■■ 


I 


Jiw»7 'i  >  o^"^: 


M^!r^jM^!!^gi^ikms^' 


The  Fuss^y  or  Over- Anxious  Salesman 

mistakes  which  might  embarrass  you  I  have  made 
up  my  mind  to  quit." 

There  was  something  delicate  in  that  halting 
confession  that  touched  me,  but  realizing  that  his 
was  a  case  for  vigorous  action,  if  the  man  was  to  be 
saved  for  any  good  to  himself  or  any  one  else,  I 
detennined  to  let  my  engagement  wait.  Taking  a 
seat  by  his  side,  I  gave  him  a  heart-to-heart  talk, 
in  which  matters  were  not  minced  regarding  his 
past  and  checkered  career.  I  pointed  out  that  he 
really  had  a  good  opportunity  at  last  to  make  some- 
thing of  liimself;  that  I  would  go  out  of  my  way  to 
help  him  and  advance  him  as  rapidly  as  possible, 
but  that  it  was  up  to  him  to  do  the  rest. 

Our  talk  seemed  to  bolster  him  up  somewhat, 
and  he  left  promising  to  stick  it  out  .ind  do  his  best. 
Two  months,  however,  of  worrying  along  with  him, 
in  wuich  many  interviews  took  place,  convinced  us 
that  he  was  a  confirmed  ne'er-do-well,  and  we  had 
to  let  him  out  to  continue  his  search  for  something 
that  "  exactly  "  fitted  his  capabilities. 

I  never  heard  from  l»ini  after  that,  but  there  is 
little  room  for  doubt  that  the  uniortunate  fellow 
is  still  looking  for  a  job,  a  sad  example  of  neglected 
opportunities  and  a  lack  of  stick-to-it-iveness. 

Opportunities  don't  often  repeat;   mistakes  do. 

The  energetic,  deml-ia-carneU  vmii  creates  confi- 
dence and  .'<nccesfi. 

183] 


r 


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n 


,  i 


V  i 

Hi 


t. 


ilfew  ^Ao  Sell  Things 

Don't  let  the  self-satisfieil  and  thoroughly  con- 
tented persuade  you  that  to-morrow's  triumph  will 
compensate  for  to-day's  inaction. 

To-morrow  in  a  poor  time  to  catch  to-day  s 
opportunities.  Nothing  great  is  ever  accomplished 
without  trained  enthusiasm,  persistent  energy,  anfl 
a  determination  to  win. 

The  man  who  depends  upon  to-morrow's 
efforts  is  ever  a  pall-bearer  at  the  bier  of  lost  hopes 
and  dea»i  ambitions. 

Results  arc  the  golden  nuggets  dug  from  to- 
day's opportunities  by  earnest  endeavor  and  patient, 
systematic  toil. 

The  faint-hcartrd  jnan  lacks  the  pjwer  to  draw 
others  to  himxcJj.  He  dissipates  confidence,  and 
fails  utterly  to  secure  prestige  with  those  above 
him  in  authority. 

A  dead  fish  can  float  with  the  tide,  but  it  takes 
a  live  one  lo  swim  against  it. 

In  this  progressive  age  u  man's  usefuln.'s.'-,  like 
that  of  the  postage-stamp,  consists  in  his  ability  to 
stick  to  a  thing  until  he  gets  there. 

Thero  is  no  use  in  mincing  words.  Let  us  look 
squarely  at  the  fac-ts  as  they  exist,  with  a  clear  eye 
to  bettering  ourselves  if  possible.  The  fact  is  very 
clear  and  pertinent  here,  that  we  must  meet  our 
antagonists  with  their  own  weapons,  hustle. 

There  are  many  salesmen   in   th<    world   who 
[34] 


^  **> 


The  Fm»y  or  Oucr-Anjciom  Salesman 

pfiduade  '*i'-'  -  "'vcs  into  believing  that  tomorrow, 
next  w-ek  Mc  :.  k  after,  or  next  year  nill  suifly 
bring  \.)  in  tin     •(^^-.I'l  .  they  should  have  obtained 

to-day. 

Not  to.!!'  1.  V  ih  leaning  on  the  !>;  -ken  reed  of 
their  own  procrastinating  methods  while  others  all 
around  them  are  getting  away  from  them  a.  large 
share  of  business  easily  within  their  grr.sp,  they  try 
to  argue  away  the  cliiel"  i»oint  adhered  to  by  tln:r 
more  progressive  brethren  in  the  race  for  sales, — 
namely,  that  "a  bird  in  the  hand  is  worth  two  in  the 

bush." 

Again  I  nmst  ask  the  reader's  forgiveness  in 
relating  a  personal  exiwrience  which  seems  to  fit 
in  right  here,  and  am  willing  to  bear  criticism  on 
that  point,  if  i.:y  little  book  prove  a  help  to  some  in 
bringing  their  attention  to  the  necessity  of  increased 
energy  in  the  daily  rouJ'nc  of  their  efforts  at  winning 
success.  My  sole  pi.:  nose  in  relating  this  incident 
is  to  point  out  the  reitsoii  why,  in  a  certain  class 
of  salesmen,  tho  negativt-  r|.iaUtics  arc  outweighed 
by  the  positive.  Iti  any  event,  tlie  reader  wiP  agree 
with  me  that  our  sins  of  omission,  as  well  as  those 
of  commission,  aie  traceablo  to  our  weaknesses,  and 
also  that  a  cure  can  be  effected  -^nly  through  the 
development  of  strong  i|ualilies. 

Our  firm    had   experienced   considerable   diffi- 
cultv  in  drawina;  busines>  from  the  West  and  North- 


i 
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Men  Who  Sell  Things 

west  through  Chicago  to  the  smaller  Eastern  market 
in  wliich  our  house  was  located.  At  different  times 
we  had  employed  two  or  three  salesmen  in  that 
.section  without  success.  On  looking  the  situation 
over,  we  concluded  that  it  was  necessary  for  a 
member  of  the  firm  to  go  out  there  and  do  a  little 
missionarj'  work.  Having  travelled  there  at  an 
earlier  period,  I  volunteered  to  make  the  trip. 

The  time  to  make  an  advance  trip  with  Fall 
goods  being  at  hand,  I  immediately  mapped  up  a 
flyer  for  ten  days,  at  the  end  of  which  I  m  as  to  meet 
our  buyers  in  New  York.  There  was  no  time  to 
lo.se  and  keep  the  Eastern  engagement,  so  I  laid  out 
the  trip  to  make  close  connections. 

The  first  town  on  the  list  was  Oshkosh,  Wiscon- 
sin. I  arrived  there  at  4:30  on  a  hot  June  afternoon, 
and  planned  to  get  through  and  leave,  if  po:,sible, 
on  the  9:30  train  the  same  night. 

The  sample-rooms  were  all  taken  at  the  Ather- 
ton  Hotel,  and  I  had  to  open  my  trunks  in  the  bil- 
liard room,  which  wa.-,  used  for  that  purpose  when 
the  place  was  crowded.  I  made  no  attempt  at  a 
regular  display,  but  simply  arranged  the  trays  to 
be  gotten  at  handiiy. 

Rushing  out  of  a  side  entrance  to  make  my 
first  c.jU,  I  ran  into  Oley,  the  Sv/edij-h  porter,  \\\m 
stopped  me  long  enough  to  say  that  two  rival  sales- 
men from  Chicago  had  been  there  all  day  Ion " 

[86] 


T 


Ii 


T 


''T'"''' 


.;^^;r*.:^"^ 


The  Fusisy  or  Over-Aiuviou.s  Salesman 

winding  up  their  Summer  business.  Noticing  my 
arrival  and  seeing  me  unpacking  Fall  go(»ds,  Oley 
explained  that  they  had  said  to  him,  "  He'll  have  a 
fine  time  trying  to  sell  Winter  goods  with  the  ther- 
mometer 03°  in  the  shade.  We  have  a  small  line 
of  advance  goo<ls  along  with  our  Summer  stuff,  hut 
haven't  tried  to  do  any  business.  Why!  Vou 
can't  even  interest  the  trade  in  stuff  for  present  use, 
to  say  nothing  of  goods  tluv  11  not  need  for  three 
months  to  come.  He  might  as  well  close  up  and 
move  on.  We  've  been  aroimd  sounding  the  trade, 
and  that 's  the  verdict." 

"  Give  them  my  regards,  Oley,"  I  said.  "  Vc-r- 
haps  they  are  right,  but  I'm  going  to  make  a  stal>  at 
it,  an}"\vay.  Maybe  things  are  not  so  bad  as  Ihey 
predic'." 

It  was  a  walk  of  but  two  blocks  to  my  iii-st  cus- 
tomer's store.  A  few  pleasant  greetings  over,  I 
exj>laincd  that  I  was  a  little  j)ressed  for  time,  and 
followed  up  the  remark  with  an  earnest  ap|>eal  for 
an  immediate  engagement. 

Possibly  the  urgency  of  the  whole  thing  im- 
presscfl  thein;  at  any  rate,  they  were  over  in  my 
room  at  5:30.  Being  quick  buyers,  they  selected  a 
bill  amounting  to  three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars 
by  6:30. 

Snatching  a  mouthful  of  supper,  I  hurried  back 
to  the  sample-room  and  selected  a  few  samples  of 

[87] 


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MICROCOPY    RESOLUTION   TEST   CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No,  2) 


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^  APPLIED  IM/^GE     Inc 

^5-^  1653    East    Ma^n    Street 

r^S  Rochester,    New   York  U609        USA 

'-^  (7 '6)    482  -  O3Q0  -  Phone 

:^=  (716)    288  -  5989  -  !  ax 


ii 


Men   Who  Sell  JViinga 

the  best  selling  numbers.  The.^e  I  quickly  packed 
into  telescopes  and  boarded  a  car  for  the  South  Side, 
across  the  river.  The  merchant  I  wanted  to  see  kept 
open  nights,  and  I  was  fortunate  in  finding  him  in. 

Apologizing  for  troubhng  him  at  that  late  hour, 
I  began  unstraj)})lng  my  cases,  keeping  up  a  running 
fire  of  selling-talk  in  the  meanwhile.  He  protested 
that  he  did  n't  want  to  buy  so  far  in  advance  of  the 
season.  Perhaps  if  I  had  had  as  much  time  on  my 
hands  as  my  Chicago  rivals  I  would  have  listened 
to  him,  but  I  kej)!  right  on,  ignoring  his  protests  as 
tactfully  as  possible,  and  finally  caught  his  eye  with 
an  unusually  attractive  value  in  the  velvet  line. 

He  called  a  clerk,  and  together  they  took  a  few 
samples  and  retired  to  the  rear  of  the  store  to  com- 
pare them.  They  talked  them  over  so  long  that  I 
began  to  get  nervous.  It  was  eight  o'clock.  But 
an  hour  .-nd  a  half  remained  in  which  to  return  to 
the  hotel,  pack  up,  and  catch  the  train.  I  was 
going  to  interruj)t  them,  when  they  started  toward 
me,  talking  earnestly  and  nodding  their  heads. 

Something  in  th^  manner  of  the  dealer  told  me 
that  the  deal  was  off  Sure  enough.  Handing  back 
my  samples,  he  said :  "  You  've  got  some  good 
values;  in  fact,  1  don't  mind  telling  you  they  are  a 
shade  better  than  the  samples  sent  me  by  the  other 
houses.  I  will  probably  send  you  an  order  later  on, 
but  I  don't  want  to  place  it  now." 

[88] 


The  Fua-sy  or  (Jver-AiLvluus  Sdlcsmaii 

It  took  lue  less  lime  to  tell  him  Ihaii  to  write  il 
tliat  I  wasn't  tr\ing  to  sell  him  a  cat  in  a  hag;  thnl 
his  own  judgment  confirmed  the  quality  of  my  goods . 
that  I  had  c<  ifidence  in  him,  and  hoped  he  h.ad  con- 
fidence iji  me;  that  nothing  could  l)e  gained  l»y  either 
of  us  by  dela\ ;  and  if  he  wanted  mv  goods  it  would 
be  necessary  to  book  his  order  right  there,  as  I  wouM 
not  guarantee  the  prices  for  foi-ty-eight  hours. 

That  brought  him  around.  AVhcn  I  said  good- 
bye, the  perspiration  was  running  down  my  back, 
but  I  had  his  order  for  four  hundred  and  fifty  doUars 
safely  tucked  away  in  my  inside  pocket.  That  made 
eight  Inmdred  dollars  for  a  few  hours'  work.  It  was 
reassui-ing,  to  say  the  least,  when  I  thought  of  ray  two 
Job's  comforters  back  in  the  hotel  wishing  me  all 
kinds  of  good  luck. 

I  made  the  train  by  the  small  margin  of  a  hair; 
it  was  pulling  in  at  the  depot  when  1  arrived.  There 
was  no  time  to  check  baggage.  Quiikly  I  orderctl 
the  drayman  to  buck  right  up  to  the  baggage  car  and 
dump  my  trunks  in  without  being  checked.  The 
station  agent  was  one  of  the  sort  that  every  travelling 
salesman  carries  around  a  club  for.  He  started 
right  in  to  veto  proceedings,  but  he  was  a  minute 
late.  The  conductor  shouted,  "All  aboard!"  I 
threw  a  half-dollar  to  the  driver,  telling  him  to  hurrj' 
and  diive  off.  The  train  pulled  out.  and  I  swung 
onto  the  rear  platform.      I  stood  there  and  waved 

[89] 


? 


r, 


n^^m-- 


Me?L  Who  Sell  Things 

my  adieu  to  the  enraged  agent,  but  it  was  lost  in  the 
shuffle,  for  he  was  blessing  the  drayman  in  three 
languages. 

The  conductor  let  me  into  the  baggage  car. 
Handing  the  baggageman  a  cigar,  I  remarked 
pleasantly:  "1  had  to  break  the  rules  this  time, 
brother.  Will  you  please  check  these  trunks  to 
Green  Bay .-' " 

That  was  rushing  things  too  much  for  comfort, 
but  I  really  believe  that  some  salesmen  lose  business 
by  having  so  much  time  on  their  hands  that  they 
don't  know  what  to  do  with  it.  Either  they  do  not 
make  the  effort,  or  thev  talk  their  customers  all 
around  Robin  Hood's  bam,  until  patience  ceases  to 
be  a  virtue;  the  merchants  give  the  orders  to  the 
man  who  attends  to  his  business  and  then  gets  away 
as  soon  as  he  can. 

Mind  you,  I  haven't  said,  "Do  as  I  have  lone, 
and  you  will  succeed."  Not  at  all;  but  rather,  I 
have  hinted  :hat  you  should  learn  by  mistakes  how  to 
avoid  them. 

Suppose  that  w  ith  a  house  of  one  hundred  sales- 
men we  have  fifteen  that  are  full  of  faith  in  their 
house  and  their  work,  and  eighty-five  that  stand  out 
careless  and  indifferent.  Wliat  can  such  a  house  do  ? 
Only  fifteen  arc  able  to  fight,  and  there  are  eighty- 
five  fussy,  feeble  men  to  look  after  I  Don't  you  see 
why  that  house  can  make  no  inroads  on  the  trade  of 

[90] 


si 


The  Fussy  or  Oier-Anjcious  Salesman 

its  competitors '(  Don't  you  see  why  it  is  that  you 
haven't  headed  the  sales  list  in  your  estubhshraent 
since  you  first  picked  up  your  gripsack  ? 

My  i>lan  is  to  take  a  common-sense  view  of  the 
fj'cts.  T  Hke  to  deal  with  facts.  You  can't  get  around 
a  fact.  Theories  yo;»  can  brush  out  of  the  way,  but 
when  you  come  to  a  fact  you  cannot  dig  under  it, 
and  you  cannot  jump  over  it ;  you  have  to  meet  it. 

A.  F.  Sheldon,  founder  of  the  Sheldon  School  of 
Scientific  Salesmanship,  asked  the  general  manager 
of  the  largest  institution  of  its  kind  in  the  world  the 
({uestion,  '"How  do  you  measure  the  value  of  an 
employee  ?  " 

The  answer  was,  "  By  the  degree  of  supervision 

which  he  recjuires.     The  less  superrlsion  he  needs,  no 

matter  what  he  is  doing,  the  more  nduuhle  i,c  beeomes.''' 

His  next  question  was, '"  What  is  the  cause  of  the 

need  of  supervision  .-* " 

Again  the  answer  promptly  came,  '*A11  super- 
vision is  caused  by  two  classes  of  sins:  first,  sins  of 
omission;  second,  sins  of  commission.  If  the  em- 
ployee in  any  eapacity  did  not  omit  to  do  a  thing  which 
he  should  do,  and  in  doing  it  committed  no  errors, 
then  he  would  need  no  supervision,  and  his  value 
would  be  at  the  hightJ." 

The  manner  in  which  James  Kecley,  manag- 
ing editor  of  "The  Chicago  Tribune,"  with  the  as- 
sistance  of    Harrv    Olsen,   effected   the  capture  of 

[  91  ] 


n\ 


i 


Men   Who  Sell  Things 

Paul  O.  Stensland,  the  Chicago  bank-wrecker,  in 
Tangier,  Morocco,  in  1906,  exemplifies  the  sort  of 
enterprise  tLit  does  things. 

It  is  an  admirable  lesson  in  pluck  and  energy 
that  might  well  be  followed  by  the  class  of  salesmen 
who  mean  w<  II  enough,  but  only  partially  succeed 
through  puttering  around.  Intelligent  application 
to  instant  opportunity  is  necessary  in  performing 
such  work.  While  the  detectives  were  theorizing, 
"The  Tribun*'"  was  working.  The  information 
received  was  indefinite,  but  investigation  proved  its 
probable  accuracy,  and  led  Messrs.  Keeley  and  Olsen 
in  tracking  Stensland  to  Tangier,  and  there  arresting 
him. 

Speaking  of  the  incident,  the  leading  daily  of 
another  city  said : 

"Tlie  arrest  of  Paul  O.  Stensland  is  an  indie  Htion  of 
what  the  i)ress  can  do,  and  also  what  the  Chicago  police 
cannot  do.  'The  Chicago  Tribune'  has  found  tlie  man 
for  whom  twenty-two  thousand  depositors  of  the  Milwau- 
kee Avenue  State  Bank  were  looking,  and  for  whom  th:' 
united  police  force  of  the  world  was  supposed  to  be  looking, 
while  the  sensational  press  was  'discovering'  him  in  every 
nook  and  corner  of  the  world  in  various  disguises. 

'"  The  Tribune'  was  the  first  to  receive  sometliing  in 
the  nature  of  a  clue  to  the  whereabouts  of  the  missing 
banker.  But  the  clue  was  slight,  and  woild  have  been 
vvortlile.ss  had  it  not  heen  followed  up  with  discretion,  with 
patience,  and  a  study  of  the  subject  of  the  pursuit  and  what 
a  fleeing  criminal  would  be  likely  to  do  under  the  circum- 
stances in  which  Stensland  had  placed  himself.     A  study 

[92] 


^ 


-f:  ii 


The  Fmsy  or  Over-Anxiom  Salesman 

of  the  conditions  of  the  various  countries  in  which  he  uiiglil 
seek  refuge  was  also  to  be  made.  It  required  that  knowl- 
cd<^e  of  human  nature  that  after  a  time  becomes  a  second 
nature  to  the  trained  reporter. 

"  "The  Tribune'  in  its  pursuit  of  the  crimina'  did  i 
avail  itself  of  the  scr\ices  of  a  detective.  Tli  •  train 
detectives  were  looking  in  an  altogether  different  directioi. 
for  the  fleeing  banker.  It  is  noi  too  much  i  •  sav  that  had 
it  not  been  for  'The  Chicago  Tribune,'  in  all  pn  "oability  tlie 
fraudulent  banker  would  never  have  been  discovert,  and 
might  have  lived  in  ease  on  his  ill-gotten  gains  —  money  of 
which  he  had  robbed  tlie  poor  who  had  »Mnfideuce  in  him." 

When  Mr.  Kceley  finally  cabled  "  The  Tribune" 
that  the  actual  arrest  had  taken  plare,  the  question 
of  getting  the  prisoner  .«afely  back  lo  the  United 
States  was  attended  with  all  maimer  of  international 
complications.  It  was  finally  d'.cided  to  send  a 
stenographer  from  the  office  of  the  Spate's  Attorney 
to  Wasliington  to  confer  with  the  State  Department 
in  an  effort  to  .secure  the  aid  of  the  United  States 
Government  for  a  proper  and  immediate  transfer. 
H';s  mission  was  attended  with  the  u?  r.al  amount  of 
red  tipe  "necessary  to  such  procdure,  causing 
dangerous  delay. 

/  t  this  interesting  juncture  the  Washington  cor- 
respondent of  "The  Tribune,"  Raymond  W.  Patter- 
son, comprehending  the  necessity  for  vigorous  action, 
entirely  withoul  regard  lo  the  traditions  of  interna- 
tional rel.^aions,  took  matters  in  his  own  hands  and 
called  upon  President  Roosevelt  at  his  summer  home 

r  m  1 


I 


Men   jr/to  Sill  Things 

at  Oyster  Bay.  A  hiiof  interview  was  all  that  was 
necessary  to  show  liiiu  that  the  Tresident  appreciated 
the  urpencv  of  the  case,  and  that  he  was  in  liearty 
svnipatiiy  with  the  victims  of  the  wrecked  bank. 

With  characteristic  iiidepenfh>nce,  Mr.  Roose- 
velt did  not  hesitate  to  overturn  the  traditions  of 
musty  international  law,  declaring;  that  he  would  jjo 
to  any  extent  nccessarv  to  secure  the  return  and 
,sub.se(iuent  jnniishmcnt  of  the  bank-wrecker  who  had 
stolen  millions,  and  who  was  denounced  as  ''one  of 
tlie  most  obnoxious  types  of  criminals."  The  inter- 
view finished,  without  a  moment's  hesitaticm  the 
President  sent  a  telegram  to  the  Hon.  Robert  Bacon, 
.Vcting  Secretary  of  State  at  Washington,  instructing 
him  concerning  the  case,  stating  that  it  was  his  desire 
to  appoint  James  Keelcy  and  Harry  Olsen  as  official 
representatives  to  take  Stcnsland  in  custody. 

Stensland  arrived  in  Chicago  in  due  time  in 
charge  of  his  captors,  and  was  duly  prosecuted  ac- 
cording to  law. 

The  Fussy  newspa|)er  man,  like  the  Fussy  Sales- 
man, makes  a  good  stroke  now  and  then,  when  for- 
tune favors  him,  but  in  most  cases  he  fools  away  his 
best  opportunities  of  doing  something  worth  while. 
The  sort  of  enterprise  exhibited  by  Keeley  and 
"Raymond"  in  behalf  of  llicir  pajjer  is  the  kind 
that  v.'ill  enable  the  sale-iiuan  to  win  big  scoops  of 
l)usin^s.^  for  his  hou-'". 

[IH  J 


The  WheelbaiTovc  Salesman 


CHAPTER  \l 

THE  WIIEKLBARROW  SALESMAN 

Spaummlic  attrinptu  to  (jet  buxinexH  rarchj 
succeed  pcniunnntli).  It  i.i  the  delib- 
erate moriixj,  caiifiou.sh/,  (jraditaUij,  and 
iiitetligentlij,  that  males  the  final  success. 

THE  Wheclbiirrow  salesman  differs  from  the 
Order-taker  in  that  he  has  going  spells  once  in 
a  while,  even  though  they  ccine  in  fits  and  jerks, 
accompanied  by  many  twists  and  turns.  The  wheel- 
barrow is  a  mighty  useful  article,  but  its  inventor 
never  intended  that  it  should  play  any  part  in  sales- 
manship. 

You  know  something  about  the  peculiarities  of 
the  Wheelban'ow  salesman  if  you  are  cxperienc  ed  in 
the  style  of  acrobatic  stunts  necessarj'  to  the  naviga- 
tion of  that  unwieldly  contrivance  from  which  he 
derives  liis  cognomen  in  our  family  of  business- 
getters.  One  tiling  I  have  noticed  about  the  wheel- 
barrow is,  that  it  is  never  used  to  carry  a  valuable 
load, —  the  chances  of  safe  delivery  are  too  slight. 
Its  burden  generally  consists  of  bricks,  mortar,  dirt, 
or  rubbish  of  some  soi-t.  It  does  very  ood  work 
when  there  is  nothing  in  the  way  to  impede  its  pro- 
{_  3SS,  but  let  it  hit  the  smallest  obstacle,  and  over  it 
goes;  or,  perchance,  if  the  man  at  the  handle  end 

[95J 


w 
^1 


\ 


I 


? , 


rt 


?■     f 


H 


[\ 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

of  the  jiflair  is  well  versed  in  its  peculiar  traits,  he  can 
save  the  load  by  an  extraonlinarj-  cxlibilion  of  skill 
and  adroitness,  knoun  only  to  the  manipulator,  and 
whicli  closely  resembles  an  Indian  war-dance. 

The  salesman  who  hopes  to  get  on  in  the  world 
will  find  it  a  hard  task  on  one  wheel  and  two  handles 
with  same  ono  constantly  pushing  him  from  behind. 
He  must  be  a  four-wheeler,  with  an  improv,.  . 
up-to-date  motor  power  of  self-energy  keeping  him 
constantly  on  the  move. 

The  one-wheel  machine  goes  along  all  right 
on  a  sn:ooth  track  with  a  strong  hand  to  steady  it, 
and  two  props  to  keep  its  balance  when  not  in 
motion;  but  it  lakes  four  wheels,  all  well  greased 
and  in  good  running  order,  on  a  veliicle  stanchly 
built,  to  complete  any  kind  of  journey  in  safety  in 
which  there  is  a  liability  to  encounter  all  manner 
of  obstacles. 

I  remember,  when  a  youngster,  seeing  some 
performers  at  a  circus  do  a  balancing  trick  on  one 
wheel.  I  went  home  and  took  a  wheel  off  the  buggy 
in  the  bani,  ran  a  short  piece  of  broom-handle 
through  the  hub,  and  mounted  from  the  horse-block. 
The  wheel  made  a  half- revolution,  which  I  com- 
pleted, stopping  the  mad  whirl  only  when  my  head 
struck  a  convenient  hitcmng-post  \Vhen  the  doc- 
tor had  taken  out  the  stitches,  and  I  was  able  o:ioe 
mo-"  to  sit  at  the  tabl''  in  place  of  standing,  I  said, 

[  !>^i  J 


f1 


TVte  fVheelbarroxL  Salesman 

"No  more  one-wheel  business  for  nie,"  and  imme- 
diately turned  my  attention  to  fixing  a  contrivance 
on  my  four-wheeled  red  waj,'on  tliat  enabled  me  to 
j»n«pel  it,  riding  at  the  same  time,  with  no  danger  of 

a  fall. 

A  wheelbarrow  is  a  dangerous  thing  at  times  to 
itseli,  its  propeller,  or  uiything  that  happens  within 
'hort  range.  I  once  >-aw  an  Irishman  laboriously 
pushing  a  heavily  l<«aded  barrow  up  a  steeji  incline. 
His  foot  slipped,  and  to  save  himself  he  let  the  whole 
load  go,  which  was  preciinlated  on  the  head  of  a 
fellow-workman,  killing  him  instantly 

Webster  defines  the  wheelbarrow  as  '  A  light 
vehicle;  having  two  handles  and  one  wheel."  Bar- 
row means  "a  ])()rtable  carriage,'  an«l  portable 
means  "«  pable  of  being  carried  easily."  There- 
fore, it  must  be  seen  at  a  glance  thai  a  Wheelbarrow 
salesman  in  the  ne  wiio  operates  on  one  wheel,  is 
light,  has  two  handles,  and  is  cajjable  of  being  car- 
ried easily. 

The  two  handles  miglit  be  lab  .iled  Push  and 
Pull,  it  being  necessary  only  for  the  sales  manager 
to  reverse  his  tactics  that  the  wheelbarrow  may  be 
made  to  go  either  way. 

Under  certain  conditions  it  is  easier  to  pull  a 
wheelbarrow   than    it   is   to   push    it;  besides   the 
change  abou'.    it  is  less  wearing  in  the  long  run. 
The  trouble  with  this  Dr.  Jekyll  and  Mr.  Hyde 
[97] 


v 


Jill 


(i 


.1 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

type  of  salcsinan  is  that  he  bottles  up  his  enerjjy  in 
an  hour-ghvss  of  indolence  and  industry',  in  whicli 
the  negative  and  positive  quahties  are  about  ecjually 
balanced  b"".t  constantly  at  variance  with  each  other. 
When  llie  industry  end  of  the  glass  is  upperiiiosl. 
splendid  work  is  the  result;  but  the  supply  gradually 
runs  down  into  the  in«'  )lenec  end  until  there  is  not 
a  grain  left.  Then  comes  a  period  of  slack  w  Tk 
and  conse(juent  poor  results.  A  powerful  stimulus 
is  reipiiix'cl  to  reverse  affairs,  when  once  again  indus- 
try concpiers  for  a  brief  time,  forcing  its  cucnn,  indo- 
lence, to  the  bottom. 

The  utility  of  this  class  of  salesman  remains  an 
unknown  fpiantity  so  long  as  frequent  stimulation 
is  necessary  to  produce  even  a  fair  average  of  results. 

Nearly  every  large  institution  has  its  Wheel- 
barrow salesmen,  men  who  do  not  seeni  to  regard  it 
as  their  duty  to  give  their  employers  the  first-fruits 
of  their  time  and  talent  under  all  circumstances. 

There  is  really  a  fine  [)oint  of  honor  involved  in 
that.  Perhaps  they  do  not  weigh  the  matter  suffi- 
ciently to  regard  it  from  that  standpoint. 

Some  of  them  are  splendid  men  in  many  re- 
spects, but  lacking  in  that  fine  American  quality, 
stick-to-it-iveness;  they  possess  real  abihty,  but  are 
content  with  lapsing  into  commonjilace  ways  now 
and  then,  in.stead  of  steadily  working  to  the  limit  of 
'heir  power,     Occasional  glimpses  of  their  clever- 

[98] 


The   Wheelbarron:  Salesman 

ness  arc  flaslied  lortb  in  sonu'  particuluily  hriglit  aiul 
successful  j»icce  of  work.  Tlu>c  are  uiighty  go«)(l 
spetiol-in<iiicciiienl  fellow?,  though!  I  know  one 
once.  His  hou.se  oflVrcd  a  prize  of  one  hundred 
dollars  in  gold,  to  he  awardetl  to  the  salesman  selling 
the  largost.  amount  of  goods  of  a  certain  l)raiHl  within 
a  given  length  of  time.  )nr  Whe  \rrow  friend 
got  a  hustle  on  him  and  won  tli  it  jiriz:  ..  a  walk,  hut 
his  sales  in  the  aggregate  f.ir  ''•-  period  .showed  him 
uj)  in  the  middle  of  '''e  li-t  —  -  id  in  s{m)Is,  ehang- 
in*'  according  to  eo    '>  ion.s. 

It  is  not  oiten  that  the  salesman  ha.s  an  oppor- 
tunity to  "about  face"  and  brand  his  finn  with  being 
the  wheelbarrow  instead  of  himself,  but  such  a  thing 
actually  oceurre<l  in  the  early  expedience  of  my 
friend  F'uUer.  Nature  had  richly  endowed  hint  with 
(jualifications  for  the  work  of  promoting  any  enter- 
prise, as  the  results  of  his  later  experiences  attest. 
But  at  the  time  the  event  re'  ted  in  this  story  took 
place,  his  selling  ability  was  an  unknown  quantity, 
he  never  having  had  the  chance  to  put  it  to  a  real 
test. 

One  day  opportunity  came  knockhig  at  his 
door,  just  as  it  does  once  or  oftener  in  the  life  of  e\ery 
man,  and  he  summoned  courage  enough  to  present 
himself  at  the  desk  of  tlie  manager  of  a  willow-ware 
house  and  made  application  fo  a  position.  He  was 
promptly  engaged  on  his  own  representation  of  what 

[99] 


'A 


^--.^^f^^^^m^ 


1 


i 


iir 


!       • 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

he  thought  he  could  do,  and  was  put  to  work  selling 
a  new  stove  polish. 

Securing  a  cloth,  the  manager  opened  a  h<  h 
box  of  polish  and  proceeded  to  give  his  new  and  raw 
recruit  a  demonstration  of  the  merits  of  the  article 
he  was  to  sell,  by  shining  an  ordinary  piece  of  paper, 
producing  an  elegant  lustre,  "with  little  effort  and 
no  dust  or  dirt." 

Fuller  had  yet  to  learn  that  what  he  had  just 
seen  was  a  trick  demonstration,  and  that  a  similar 
effect  could  easily  be  produced  in  the  same  way  with 
almost  any  other  brand.  His  supreme  faith  in  the 
article  was  clinched  with  the  manager's  statement 
that  there  was  ''  nothing  in  the  world  that  could  begin 
to  compare  with  it,"  and  he  started  out  with  his  little 
sample-case,  a  box  of  polish,  a  rag,  and  the  assur- 
ance from  the  manager  that  he  could  find  plenty  of 
paper  on  the  retailer's  counters  with  which  to  make 
like  demonstrations. 

The  first  dealer  encountered  told  him  he  had 
"  stove  polish  to  bum."  But  Fuller  had  it  to  .sell,  and 
with  the  effect  of  the  manager's  demonstration  still 
firing  his  brain,  he  was  honestly  convinced  there  was 
no  stove  polish  on  earth  like  his,  and  he  shined  papers 
galore.  The  fervor  of  his  enthusiasm  reflected  an 
added  lustre.  His  customer  was  forced  to  admit  he 
had  never  seen  anything  like  it,  and  closed  by  giving 
him  a  good  order. 

(100] 


JhiltfTnni 


Ufte 


flHM 


mtmm 


T^m^ifM^^^^im^mjsmi^m^ 


The  Wheelbarrow  Salesman 

In  the  same  way  he  sold  to  the  next  dealer,  and 
the  next;  in  fact,  he  worked  that  street  from  one  end 
to  the  other,  making  forty-seven  straight  sales  in 
three  days  without  a  single  break.  He  made  every 
one  of  those  forty-seven  dealers  believe  what  he  be- 
lieved himself  concerning  that  stove  polish. 

Dealer  Forty-eight  was  a  stumbling-block,  and 
came  pretty  near  convincing  Fuller  that  salesman- 
ship was  a  lost  art,  besides  winning  a  dollar  from  him 
on  a  wager  that  all  stove  polish  looked  and  worked 
ahke,  backing  up  his  argument  with  Fuller's  own 
paper  demonstration,  made  with  a  polish  taken  from 
his  own  shelf. 

Stove  polish  from  head  to  foot,  leaving  the 
grocer  in  much  the  same  condition,  Fuller  rushed 
from  the  store  crushed  and  defeated.  He  worked 
the  balance  of  the  day  with  but  little  success,  mak- 
ing a  sale  to  but  one  in  every  eight  or  ten  calls. 
The  few  orders  he  did  receive  were  given  him  as 
"complimentary,"  and  out  of  sympathy  for  his 
inexperience.  His  selling-talk,  which  had  been 
effective  principally  in  his  demonstrations,  totally 
deserted  him  with  Number  Forty-eight's  knock-out 
blow. 

One  day  Fuller  awoke  to  the  fact  that  he  really 
had  a  good  article.  He  had  proved  it  by  making 
forty-seven  sales  without  falling  down.  He  asked 
himself    the    question:    "WTiy   surrender   the   fine 

[101] 


l<! 


I 


^M^:% 


;' 


I 


ill 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

success  I  have  had  at  the  start  because  of  my  expe- 
rience vnih.  Number  Forty-eight  ?  " 

Pulling  himself  lo'ijethcr,  ho  reasoi.'^d  out  that 
he  had  convinced  forty-seven  dealers  that  his  article 
was  good,  and  that  but  one  had  convinced  him  that 
it  was  no  good.  Having  fought  it  all  out  with  him- 
self, he  determined  to  make  a  fresh  start,  buoyed  up 
with  the  thought  that  there  were  any  number  of 
Forty-sevens  in  his  territory.  He  figured  out  that 
he  had  really  possessed  some  good  talking-points, 
but  lost  them  all  on  Number  Forty-eight. 

Fortified  with  new  faith  in  himself  and  the  arti- 
cle he  was  selling,  his  first  three  or  four  calls  showed 
him  that  his  earlier  methods  were  again  wori  ing  per- 
fectly. Being  unusually  adept,  in  a  few  months 
Fuller  had  mastered  the  main  essentials  of  the  stove- 
polish  business,  and  along  with  it  one  of  the  most 
valuable  lessons  in  salesmanship  —  stick-to-it-ive- 
ness.  The  outcome  of  his  initial  experience  is  best 
told  in  his  own  words : 

"I  stuck  at  it  for  several  months,  and  began  to  get 
acquainted  with  the  trade,  and  learned  that  on  the  west 
side  of  the  city  there  was  a  firm  that  made  stove  polisli,  but 
had  practically  no  market  for  its  goods,  and  less  knowledge 
of  how  to  push  them.  I  determined  to  go  over  and  see 
just  what  the  conditions  were.  Examining  the  product,  I 
pronounced  it  O.  K.,  and  made  a  statement  to  the  pro- 
prietor that  I  could  sell  his  goods. 

"Drawing  up  his  chair,  iie  began  |  icturing  to  me  the 
worst  side  of  a  business  man's  career  that  I  have  ever  heard 


'fjff-f' 


ggiomy 


The  Wheelbarrow  Salesinan 


of  before  or  since.  Everjlhing  in  the  world  seemed  to  take 
on  a  beautiful  indigo  color.  He  sat  there  with  his  chin 
between  his  knees,  addressing  me  in  a  manner  that  plainly 
indicated  tliat  he  had  completely  lost  his  ner\-e. 

'"Young  man,'  said  he,  'the  man  is  not  yet  born  who 
can  sell  my  polish.  I  have  been  plugging  away  at  this 
business  for  eight  or  nine  years,  and  my  goods  are  on  the 
dealers'  shelves  in  the  worst  possible  condition;  the  cans 
are  rusted  out,  the  jxtlish  is  hardened,  and  there  is  little 
left  of  them  but  a  faded  label.  It  is  simply  out  of  the 
question  to  attempt  to  regain  my  lost  prestige  in  the  face 
of  all  that.' 

"  While  he  was  outlining  his  side  of  a  story  which  too 
|)lainly  told  of  a  neglected  past,  I  could  think  of  nothing 
Imt  Number  Forty-eight.  When  he  had  finished,  I  asked 
ii  few  questions  relative  to  what  he  would  do,  at  the  same 
time  thinking  of  Numbers  One,  Two,  and  Three,  all  along 
the  line  to  Forty-seven. 

"The  question  of  my  engagement  was  finally  settled 
on  a  liberal  commission  basis,  and  I  got  him  to  agree  that 
in  case  I  should  find  a  few  goods  of  his  manufacture  on 
a  dealer's  shelves  in  bad  condition  he  would  send  fresh 
goods  for  the  bad  stock. 

"My  first  day's  income  was  larger  by  far  than  any- 
thing I  had  made  for  any  five  or  six  days'  previous  effort. 
I  delivered  my  orders  promptly  the  next  morning,  but  my 
employer  frankly  informed  me  that  he  did  not  believe  they 
were  honestly  taken. 

"You  can  imagine  working  for  an  employer  of  that 
temperament.  I  tried  to  convince  him  that  my  orders 
were  honestly  taken,  and  urged  him  to  make  an  clfort  to 
deliver.  All  the  eloquence  I  could  muster  failed  to  move 
him,  until  he  had  sent  an  insipid  three-dollar-a-weck  ckrk 
around  to  the  dealers  to  see  if  the  orders  were  O.  K. 

"This  would  not  have  been  so  bad  had  the  man  who 
was  sent  to  confirm  my  work  been  clever  enough  to  give 

[103] 


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Men  Who  Sell  Things 

some  plausible  excuse  for  asking  such  informatiou.  For- 
tune favored  me,  as  I  lost  but  two  orders  through  this 
procefl'Te.  Within  a  week  or  ten  days  I  had  gained  the 
manufacturer's  confidence,  and  he  began  to  look  UjWn 
the  bright  side  of  things. 

"  A  few  months  later  the  sun  was  shining  on  both  sides 
of  the  street  for  him.  What  little  help  he  did  have  was 
putting  in  full  time  instead  of  working  two  or  three  days 
per  week,  and  we  all  got  along  nicely  The  manufacturer 
began  to  see  his  way  clear;  to  think  in  the  proper  channels; 
to  figure  that  if  one  man  could  sell  his  goods,  somewhere  on 
this  earth  there  were  other  men  who  could  do  the  same." 

Fuller  is  now  the  Western  sales  manager  for  a 
large  chemical  plant,  but  is  still  on  friendly  terms 
with  his  VNTieelbarrow  friend,  the  stove-polish 
manufacturer,  who  has  become  wealthy,  and  owns 
and  controls  a  large  factory.  His  advertised  brand 
is  a  household  word  the  country  over.  He  gives 
Fuller  full  credit  for  literally  pushing  him  up  the 
highway  of  success  to  a  point  that  enabled  him  to 
proceed  smoothly,  and  he  can  now  dictate  in  the 
natter  of  opening  up  new  territories  when  engaging 
additional  salesmen.  And  he  is  particular  to  have 
only  the  best. 

An  indispensable  requisite  to  success  is  concen- 
tration, or  devotion  to  one  subject.  AMien  that  sub- 
ject is  faithful,  well-rounded  service  to  one's  house, 
the  reward  is  certain.  The  man  who  would  do  one 
thing  well  must  not  attempt  a  dozen  thing.,  uow- 
cvor  attractive   or   invitmg.       The    salesman   who 

[10-1] 


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^2.  JSr-:;£m.jm\^<'.^li^ . 


TAe  Wheelbarrotxi  Salesman 

would  get  to  the  top  of  his  profession  must  singlo 
out  each  day's  work,  ai.d  into  that  must  pour  the 
vvholi  stream  of  his  activities  —  all  the  energies  of 
his  hand,  eye,  tongue,  heart,  and  brain.  The  sales- 
man of  single  and  intense  purpose,  he  who  is  not 
tempted  with  seductive  side-line  offers,  who  believes 
thr  I  his  house  will  pay  him  just  as  much  salary  when 
the  proper  time  comes  as  has  been  offered  by  a 
neighboring  house  to  entice  him  away,  is  the  sales- 
man who  will  accomplish  lasting  results  and  is 
everywhere  in  demand. 

A  salesman  may  be  able  to  show  great  bursts 
of  speed,  but  if  he  runs  first  forward  and  then  back- 
ward, to  the  right  and  to  the  left,  with  periodical 
fits  of  looping  the  loop  in  between,  he  will  wind  up 
some  day  by  missing  the  gap  altogether. 

The  work  of  a  salesman  is  to  sell  goods.  No 
salesman  has  ever  yet  made  his  mark  in  the  world 
of  salesmanship  who  was  not  possessed  with  a 
master  passion  to  see  his  sales  climb  higher  and 
higher  with  each  bulletin  issued  froir  the  sales 
department. 

Allan  Wilson  says:  "Fight  hardest  when 
you  We  on  your  back.  Many  a  down-and-outer 
would  be  an  up-and-innsr  if  such  action  had  governed 
them  at  the  crucial  iimes  of  their  careers." 

Mr.  Wilson  tells  a  good  story  of  the  awakening 
of  "  coherer  the  failure." 

[105] 


n 


Men   Who  Sell  Tilings 


\V\ 


Scherer  was  a  failure.  He  was  a  miserable  oort 
of  a  failure.  Such  a  failure  was  he  that  his  employer 
told  him  he  was  a  failure,  before  all  the  other  sales- 
men on  the  force. 

Scherer  had  conducted  a  small  business  of  his 
ow".  Then  he  became  th^  general  agent  for  his 
county  with  the  house  of  the  man  who  later  called 
him  down.  But  it  was  a  small  post  at  best,  and  so 
he  came  into  the  general  office,  determined  to  make 
a  big  place  for  himself  on  the  road. 

"Well,"  .said  the  n-inager  of  the  sales  depart- 
ment, 'we  haven't  got  anything  against  tiying  a 
new  man." 

"  But  I'm  not  exactly  a  new  man,  Mr.  Manager," 
said  he.  "  I  've  handled  the  firm's  line  for  the  last 
fourteen  months  in  Wheatville  County.  I  've  sold 
goods  in  —  " 

"Well,  it's  a  little  different  on  the  road," 
replied  the  sales  manager,  "but  we  can  find  a 
territory'  for  you,  all  right." 

So  they  gave  him  a  territory',  and  a  fairly  good 
one,  and  Scherer  tugged  his  sample-cases  to  the 
depot  and  tried  hard  to  be  a  real  salesman.  He 
was  good  where  he  was  acquainted  and  where  the 
house  was  known.  When  it  came  to  getting  new- 
business  he  fell  down  completely.  He  made  a 
dozen  towns  in  a  week,  and  failed  to  land  one  single 
order;    then  he  got  discouraged,  and  for  a  week 

[106] 


i/^T^c  j.ftiCT:aPf"r  ~^^wr^''^c-  ■'m^';s;*f^<!\W\7;^i^]:>. 


1 


The  fVheelbarrotv  Salesman 

tended   only   to  fixed   trade.     \nd  when  he   was 
turned  down  he  took  it  to  heart. 

He  managed  to  hold  his  position,  but  continued 
to  be  a  failure  fo*-  four  long  years.  Thci!  as  was 
his  custom,  his  einployt/  held  in  his  private  office 
a  reception  for  the  salesmen  of  the  firm. 

Every  one  was  feeling  good,  and  mutual  ex- 
pressions ot  respect  and  uppreciati(m  passed  freely 
about.  Times  were  good,  and  Schcrer's  employer 
was  happy  in  his  attitude  toward  his  men.  He  told 
them  that  ne\er  had  he  been  so  well  scrA'ed  by  any 
set  of  salesmen  in  his  entire  career,  that  never  had 
the  firm  done  so  mucli  business,  and  that  never  were 
the  promises  of  the  future  so  Iriglit  and  rosy.  Not 
a  salesman  on  the  staff  but  hud  done  himself  proud, 
he  said. 

Then  his  eye  fell  .  Scherer  the  failure,  over 
in  the  corner.  The  iron  in  his  employer's  soul  was 
touched.  "  That  is,"  he  said,  "  with  one  exception. 
Mr.  Scherer,  who  is  our  weakest  salesman,  has 
failed,  as  customary,  to  do  justice  to  the  firm  and  to 
the  territory  which  he  travels.  Howe  er,  the  other 
men  have  done  so  well  that  the  handicap  of  one 
weak  man  scarcely  has  been  felt." 

Scherer  never  knew  how  he  left  the  office  that 
day.  He  went  home  and  sat  with  his  hands  ia  his 
lap,  forcing  himself  to  realize  just  what  the  head  had 
.said  to  him.     Then  he  became  terribly  ashamed. 

[107] 


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Men   Who  Sell  Things 

Also  he  was  angry,  as  men  grow  angry  in  silence  and 
alone  when  they  have  unpleasant  thoughts,  and  he 
swore  considerably.  He  did  n't  sleep  that  night.  He 
lay  awake  and  cursed  himself  and  his  employer 
with  great  impartiality. 

He  was  in  the  city  for  a  week's  rest,  but  the 
next  momii.g  found  him  packing  his  trunks  and 
cases  for  the  road.  He  was  on  the  road  all  the  next 
da},  and  at  nightfall  he  walked  into  the  office  of 
a  man  who  had  twice  before  refused  to  see  him.  The 
man  each  year  bought  goods  of  the  kind  he  was 
selling  to  the  extent  of  $50,000.  This  lime  Scherer 
walked  past  the  office  boy  and  })resented  his  card 
himself. 

"  Mr.  Blank,  I've  come  to  sell  you  .some  goods," 
said  Scherer.  "You  can't  afford  to  stop  me  from 
doing  it.  Will  you  give  me  some  time  now,  or  shall 
I  call  later?" 

The  man  tore  the  card  into  bits.  "Damn  it!" 
he  roared,  "where  are  tho.se  office  boys?'' 

"Outside,''  replied  Scherer  calmly.  "There 
was  only  one.  I  stuffed  him  under  a  bencl  when 
he  tried  to  stop  me.  And  here 's  another  card. 
Now  do  you  think  I've  got  a  proposition  that  can 
interest  you  ?  " 

The  man  looked  carefully  at  the  new  card  and 
laid  it  down. 

"TNTiat  's  your  proposition,  Mr.  Scherer  ?  " 
[108] 


f^M^€;mMm»^^':li^  ^l^Yi-^J^'im' 


^^.J^ic^i.:. 


The  Wheelbarrow  Salesman 

"Whew!  What  in  the  world 's  happened  to 
Scherer?"  said  the  sales  manager  two  weeks  later. 
"He  must  have  gone  crazy.  Why  —  why,  he's 
actually  got  the  record  for  the  sales  of  last  week." 

He  carried  his  discovery  to  the  head,  and  the  old 
man  smiled  grimly.  "Scherer?  Oh,  yes.  Well, 
you  never  can  tell  what  a  horse  can  do  until  you  've 
tried  your  hardest  whip  on  him." 

The  old  saying,  "Stick  to  your  busine.i.'<,  and 
your  busincsti  will  stick  to  you,''  is  the  only  safe  rule 
for  the  man  who  believes  that  salesmanship  is  a  h«)p. 
skip,  and  jump  game,  reijuiring  little  practice  and 
less  brains.  We  boys  used  to  anmse  ourselves  with 
that  pastime  during  recess  at  schorl.  The  hop 
and  the  skip  looked  easy  enough  o\.  'i.  face  of  ii, 
and  the  most  awkward  of  us  got  along  so  ir  without 
losing  our  equilibrium  or  our  bets.  But  the  real 
test  came  in  making  the  jump.  Is'o  one  could  foretell 
the  result  of  the  jump.  Balanced  on  one  foot,  the 
spring  was  made,  which  ended  for  most  of  us  amid 
hoots  of  derision  from  our  schoolmates.  It  hurt 
our  feelings  and  dampened  our  ardor  more  than  did 
the  header  we  had  taken.  Tt  was  an  exliausti  g 
practice,  that  consumed  our  energy  and  our  enthu- 
siasm; and  how  is  success  possible  without  en- 
thusiasm ? 

In  urging  the  irapoi'ance  of  slicking  to  the 
business  of  our  profession,  T  do  not  mean  t'lat  any 

[1091 


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3syr.-'K'T^m:^.^m^  ^  Ir;. 


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Men  Who  Sell  Things 

man  should  be  a  mere  salesman,  lest  he  become  a 
one-wheeler  on  the  barrow  plan. 

The  profession  of  salesmanship  has  its  peculiar 
tendencies,  which  more  or  less  dwarf  those  that 
devote  themselves  to  it  on  a  narrow-gauge  scale, 
hampering  and  jirevcnting  them  from  attaining  a 
well-rounded,  healthful,  and  whole-souled  sphere  of 
usefulness.  Is  not  the  mechanic  in  many  cases  but 
an  animated  machine  ?  Docs  not  the  salesman  too 
often  get  a  <me-wheeled  idea  of  the  road,  forgetting 
that  the  coach  in  which  he  travels  is  built  on  eight? 
And  do  not  his  indolence,  lack  of  tact,  and  lack  of 
practical  metluMls  give  rise  to  the  idea  that  salesmen 
are  bom  and  not  made.' 

Selling-success  cannot  be  accomplished  with 
one  wheel,  two  handles,  and  a  prop.  Every  sales- 
man ought  to  be  something  more  than  a  spoke,  a 
cog,  or  a  pulley  in  our  great  commercial  machine. 

Think  it  over.  Brother  Wheelbarrow,  and 
determine  that  it  is  worth  while  to  be  a  salesman, 
cultivating  and  developing,  so  far  as  you  can,  all  your 
energies  on  a  four-wheeled  plan,  and  then  expend 
your  chief  labors  on  getting  there  by  the  sole  aid 
of  your  own  motive  power  —  educated  enlhxmasm. 


[110  J 


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7%^  Kfiuxv-It-AU  Salesman 


CHAPTER   VII 

THE   KNOW-IT  ALL  SAI-ESMAN 

The  only  sliots  that  count  are  the  nhotn  that  hit. 

RooneveU. 

Many  a  man  who   taken   hlmirlf   very    seri- 
ously ifi  reijarded  a.t  a  huge   ji>l<'  by  othem. 

Many  a  fool  in  vain  and  selj-derejAine;  many 
a  man  of  great  power  is  modest  to  the  la.4  degree. 

\T  does  not  follow  that  because  air  is  life  it  has 
•»  any  application  to  salesmanship;  hut  perhaps 
that  is  the  reason  Avhy  sonic  salesmen  Mow  so 
liard. 

A  noted  and  witty  preacher  once  said:  "The 
general  pulpit  style  of  America  is  about  like  this: 
Here  I  am,  the  Rev.  Jeremiah  Jones,  D-o-c-t-o-r  of 
D-i-v-i-n-i-t-y,  saved  by  the  grace  of  God,  with  a 
message  to  deliver.  If  you  will  repent  and  believe 
what  I  believe,  you  will  be  savd  •  and  if  you  don't, 
you  will  be  damned;   and  I  are  much  if  you 

are." 

Self-assertiveness  is  an  invaluable  (juality  in 
salesmanship  when  properly  harnessed,  but  it  mp 
be  ovenvorked. 

The  Know-it-all  Salesman  claims  a  large  share 
of  the  lime-light  wherever  possible.  He  seeks  to 
impress  ever}'  one  uilh  whom  he  comes  in  contact 

[  "1 ) 


*  Q. 


L  m- 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

with  an  idea  of  his  astonishing  zeal,  and  by  a  roel  »- 
dramatic  display  of  activity. 

//  a  man  i.i  going  to  be  rjfinent  and  succetiiiful, 
he  must  think  more  about  his  work  than  about  him- 
aelf.  The  «■  'Icsmun  who  wants  to  get  to  the  top  hy 
intelligent  devotion  to  work  has  no  time  for  self- 
worship. 

Salesmanship  is  like  a  great  river  coursing  its 
wav  onward  through  the  innumenihlc  channels  and 
branches  of  the  world's  activities,  the  shores  of 
which  are  strewn  with  wrecks  and  failures,  who 
held  their  ov/n  personalities  as  parann)unt  to  their 
work.  !f  the  quality  of  a  salesman's  work  will 
pass  muster  with  the  head  of  his  house,  his  per- 
sonalitv  will  shine  through  it  unushered  by  any 
effort  on  his  part. 

Salesmen  that  talk  as  though  they  were  well 
pleased  with  themselves  do  not  find  many  in  their 
neighborhood  who  are  well  pleased  with  them. 
Whenever  a  salesman  gets  more  self- consciousness 
tha.i  he  has  sense,  he's  going  to  talk  foolishness 
most  of  the  time.  SeUing-talk  and  foolishness  do 
not  mi.x  well,  the  one  must  suffer  at  the  expense  of 
the  other. 

You  associate  with  salesmansliip  thought, 
wisdom,  and  a  reasonable  amount  of  self-restraint, 
don't  you?  Now,  some  salesmen  say  that  they 
don't  have  to  studv,  and  they  don't  need  the  ad\'ice 

[112] 


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The  Know- It- A II  Salesman 

of  their  sales  inunag«'r.  They  chii  paddle  their 
own  canoes. 

The  president  ot  a  jjrcat  house  travelling  many 
raen  ap|)ropriated  a  large  muu  to  he  i.ivested  in  tlie 
education  of  his  corps  of  salesmen  through  the 
organization  and  e(juipnient  of  a  chiis  in  scientific 
salesmanship. 

A  few  weeks  after  the  study  I'.ad  heen  i..>>talled, 
he  went  to  one  of  his  salesmen  and  incpiircd  how  he 
was  getting  along  with  the  work.  The  reply  was: 
"The  author  of  that  course  don't  know  anything 
about  our  line.     He  can':  learn  me  nothing." 

And  sure  enough,  he  could  not. 

When  selling  goo<!s,  that  salesnuui  just  opened 
his  mouth  and  let  come  out  of  it  what  would,  and  it 
was  generally  filled  with  air.  That  is  all  such  a 
mouth  can  l)e  filled  with.  There  is  many  an  t>ld 
air-gun  salesman  shooting  around  over  his  territory. 
You  can't  bring  down  big  game  witii  an  air-gun. 

Three  thinijs  are  ncccusary  1o  enable  a  svlesman 
to  put  up  a  good  sclJing-talk  —  knowledge,  judg- 
ment, aiul  enthusiasm.  Buyers  associate  those  qual- 
ities with  every  good  selling-talk  they  hear. 

No  one  will  ever  do  anything  for  you  that  you 
can  do  for  yourself.  The  sales  manager  in  your 
house  has  too  much  to  do  to  go  running  around  post- 
ing lazy  salesmen  thnt  have  no  disposition  to  loam 
anything  new 


I 
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Men  Who  Sell  Things 

You  show  me  a  salesman  that  feels  he  is  all- 
sufficient  in  his  own  knowledge,  one  who  doesn't 
have  to  keep  posted  on  the  latest  and  best  of  every- 
thing that  will  aid  him  in  holding  and  gaining  prestige 
with  his  trade  and  his  house,  and  I  will  show  you  an 
Air-gun.  I  Avrite  \vith  safety,  for  of  course  tlicre  are 
no  Air-guns  around  your  house.  I  refer  to  those  in 
the  house  of  your  neighbor  down  in  the  next  block. 

The  next  thing  to  an  Air-gun  is  an  old  Powder- 
gun  —  one  with  nothing  in  it  but  powder.  No  trade 
is  ever  secured  with  that.  The  Powder-gun  Sales- 
man shoots  at  his  trade  without  any  shot.  Ilis 
customers  enjoy  it  as  much  as  he  does  —  none  of 
them  ever  get  bagged.  But  whenever  a  salesman 
puts  a  shell  filled  with  shot  into  the  magazine  of  his 
selling-talk  and  lays  the  barrel  on  solid  judgment, 
and  takes  careful  aim,  training  the  sight  on  the  sale 
he  is  bent  on  securing,  and  fires,  he  is  sure  to  hit  the 
bull's-eye. 

After  his  shot  tells,  he  can  stop  and  apologize: 
"I  didn't  mean  to  hit  you  there.  I  aimed  here." 
That  is  a  salesman  who  aims  where  he  hits,  and  hits 
where  he  aims. 

The  greatest  poiver  any  house  ever  had  is  a  game 
salesman  —  never  afraid  of  competition.  And  the 
greatest  drawback  is  the  Shotless  Salesman,  who 
aims  at  nothing  in  particular,  and  misses  everytliing. 
He  is  in  the  same  category  with  his  fussv  friend  who 

J  114] 


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The  Know -It- All  Salesman 

is  afraid  of  hurting  somebody's  feelings  if  he  takes 
careful  aim. 

Don't  let  any  one  say  of  you  tb^t  you  talk  too 
much  of  yourself  and  your  jiffairs. 

A  reasonable  degree  of  self-assurance  is  a  good 
thing;  the  best  of  salesmen  practise  and  live  self- 
confidence  and  self-assertivcness  to  a  certain  meas- 
ure; but  the  overworking  of  these  (jualities  is  the 
cause  of  the  failure  of  many  a  bright  salesman.  You 
are  obliged  to  have  something  more. 

Salesmanship  does  not  consist  of  what  you  pro- 
fess, but  it  consists  of  what  you  are,  what  you  do,  and 
how  well  you  do  it.  When  the  doing  follows  the 
being,  the  result  swells  your  sales,  increases  your 
chances  for  ultimate  success. 

There  is  no  objection  to  a  man  professing  sales- 
manship. There  is  no  cjuarrel  with  a  salesman  as 
long  as  he  lives  on  a  level  with  what  he  professes; 
but  when  he  gets  down  below  that,  the  sales  manager 
should  go  for  him.  When  the  salesman  mixes  too 
much  f)f  himself  with  what  he  is  trying  to  sell,  he 
is  not  hving  on  a  level  with  his  ])rofession.  Self- 
sufficiency  does  not  secure  efficiency. 

The  real  worker  must  forget  self;  business  is  the 
main  thing. 

It  is  hard  for  the  Know-it-all  Salesman  to  realize 
that  nobody  is  always  right. 

The  man  whf)  cither  will  not  or  cannot  efface 


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Men  Who  Sell  Things 

himself  enough  in  performing  his  duties  will  find  it 
exceedingly  difficult  to  get  along.  He  cannot  hope 
to  win  the  approval  of  those  above  him  in  authority, 
or  to  make  lasting  friends  of  his  customers.  He  is 
like  a  man  toiling  up  an  icy  glacier  without  the  aid 
of  an  alpenstock.  The  most  arduous  effort  too  often 
means  a  sudden  plunge  into  the  yawning  abyss. 


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ih 


T/te  Quick-  Tempered  Salenman 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  QUICK-TEMPERED  SALESMAN 

//  a  man  openg  his  door,  his  dog  runs 
out  in  the  street  before  he  knows  it. 

Your  tongue  is  a  sort  of  revolving 
fan  to  a  fire:  arul  the  first  time  ymi 
let   your  tongue  go,  you    are  goii.-. 

TT  is  astonishing  how  many  things  will  come  up  to 
•*■  the  salesman,  and  come  when  he  least  expects 
them,  upon  his  tongue. 

Some  one  has  told  us  that  we  get  our  idea  of  the 
word  "temper"  from  the  blacksmiths  shop,  where 
the  blacksmith  is  shaping  an  axe,  for  instance,  and 
upsetting  the  blade  of  it.  He  heats  the  blade  and 
pushes  it  down  into  the  water,  and,  taking  it  out, 
he  watches  it  take  its  color;  and  again  he  pushes  it 
into  the  water  and  takes  it  out  and  watches  it  take  its 
color;  and  then  directly  he  passes  it  to  the  hand  of 
the  farmer,  and  says:  "  I  think  that  is  tempered,  but 
I  don't  know.  If  you  will  grind  it  and  take  it  out  to 
that  knotty  log  and  throw  it  in  a  time  or  two,  I  shall 
be  able  to  tell  you  whether  it  is  tempered  or  not." 

And  the  farmer  takes  up  the  axe  and  goes  out  to 
the  log  and  strikes  it  a  time  or  two,  and  the  axe  is 
full  of  notches.  lie  takes  it  back  to  the  blacksmith, 
and  says:    "You  missed  it  this  time.     Look  here! 

[117] 


'  M 


i 


\ 


It  is  notched  all  over  witli  gaps."  And  the  black- 
smith takes  it  Jind  puts  it  in  the  fire  again  and  tests 
it;  and  when  the  owner  next  takes  it  out  to  the 
log,  its  edge  is  all  right,  and  he  says:  "This  edge 
is    perfect."     That    is    wher     -ve   get   our  idea   of 

temper. 

Many  a  time  the  salesman  has  his  disposition 
upset  and  tempered,  and  then  he  goes  out  and  says: 
"  Well,  now,  I  will  never  get  that  way  any  more.  I 
have  got  the  edge  all  right  this  time.  I  have  got  it 
tempered  up  in  every  respect."  But  the  first  old 
knotty  customer  he  gets  to,  away  it  goes,  and  the 
notches  are  made  in  it,  and  the  edge  is  destroyed, 
and  he  says:  "Dear  me!  It's  of  no  use  for  me  to 
try  at  all.     I  did  worse  this  time  than  I  ever  did 

before." 

Have  n't  you  ever  felt  that .' 

A  good  temper  will  stand  anything  without  the 
breaking  out  of  a  gap  or  the  turning  of  an  edge. 

There  is  a  great  'ijference  behreen  the  good- 
natured  mlcsmnn  and  the  gond-tempercd  salesman. 

We  hear  people  say,  "  Oh,  that  person  has  less 
temper  than  anybody  I  ever  saw."  Well,  he  is  of 
less  account  than  anybody  you  ever  saw,  if  you  mean 
by  that  that  he  is  simply  good-natured. 

Given  ii  man  with  immense  temper,  and  when 
that  temper  is  of  th-'  right  sort,  then  it  is  you  've  got 
the  finest  fliarncter  this  world  cvor  sav;. 


The  Quick -Tempered  Salesman 

We  can  have  good  tempers  only  with  vigilant, 
watchful  care  over  them.  Did  you  ever  manage 
your  temper  by  clinching  your  teeth  together  and  not 
letting  your  tongue  run  a  bit  ?  Your  tongue  is  a  sort 
of  revolving  fan  to  a  fire,  and  the  first  time  you  let 
your  tongue  go,  you  are  gone.  Did  you  ever  try  to 
curb  your  tongue  once  ?  If  you  '11  do  it,  you  '11  be 
astonished. 

If  you  are  a  Quick-tempered  Salesman,  begin 
now  by  saying,  "I  will  watch  my  temper;  I  will 
watch  my  tongue;  I  will  watch  my  disposition;  I 
will  watch  within;  I  will  watch  without;  I  will  be 
vigilant;  I  won't  be  surprised  by  anything.  I  am 
going  to  see  my  enemy  approach;  I  am  going  to 
watch  him  as  he  comes,  and  I  am  going  to  meet  hii. 
as  he  comes." 

A  soldier  in  the  last  war  said :  "  One  of  the 
hardest  things  I  had  to  do  was  to  lie  still  under 
fire." 

Humanity  wants  to  fight  back,  and  kick  back, 
le  salesman  never  foughi  back,  or  kicked  back, 
c  Ked  back  in  .  life  that  he  was  not  sorry  that  he 
did  it.  7'lie  best  thing  is  to  stand  and  hold  out  and 
let  your  enemy  kick  himself  to  death,  and  he  will  soon 
do  that  if  you  will  hold  right  still. 

Speaking  on  the  subject  of  self-control,  a  noted 
reformer  once  said :  "  If  a  man  called  me  a  liar,  \ 
would  not  get  mad  and  fight  him.     I  wtnild  say  to 

(119] 


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I 


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J 


f' 


Me7i  Who  Sell  Things 

him,  '  If  I  'm  a  liar  I  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  my- 
self; and  if  I  'm  not  a  liar  you  are  a  Har.'  " 

It  is  a  mighty  good  plan  to  combat  insult  and 
injur)'  with  wit  or  a  smile.  These  quickly  disarm 
our  adversary. 

The  value  to  the  salesman  of  self-control  in 
meetinir  the  selfishness  or  insults  of  a  customer,  or  of 
managers,  is  demonstrated  over  and  over  again  in  the 
life  of  every  man  on  the  road.  Many  instances 
occur  in  the  career  of  everv-  salesman  where  right- 
eous indignation  seems  justifiable,  but  if  used  at  all 
as  an  antidote,  it  should  be  in  homv  opathic  doses 
only. 

WTiile  travelling  on  the  road,  long  before  em- 
barking in  business  for  myself,  I  once  lost  my  temper 
under  very  trying  circumstances  in  dealing  with  the 
buyer  of  a  large  firm. 

Years  afterwards  I  secured  the  services  of  a 
traveller  who  was  intimately  acquainted  with  that 
buyer,  '"he  first  time  our  new  man  called  on  him 
he  was  surprised  at  the  reception  he  received  upon 
presenting  the  firm's  card.  The  man  with  whom  I 
had  quarrelled  opened  up  on  our  new  representative 
with,  "\\'e  have  beca  good  friends,  and  you  have 
always  given  me  a  square  deal.  It  would  be  a  real 
pleasure  to  continue  my  business  relations  with 
you  personally,  but  you  can  go  back  and  tell  your 
employer  that  I  will  see  him  in  Hades  before  he 

[  120  ] 


7Vie  Quick'  Tempered  Salesman 

gets  another  dollar's  worth  of  business  from  my 
firm." 

During  the  years  that  followed,  our  fimi  was 
deprived  of  thousands  of  dollars'  worth  of  'ousiness 
from  him  because  I  had  lost  my  self-control  just 
once. 

Get  the  habit  of  self-control,  and  never  part  with 
it.  WTien  tempted  by  weakness,  keep  away  as  far 
as  possible  from  the  danger-hne.  There  is  always 
a  fascination  in  seeing  how  near  we  can  go  to  the 
edge  of  a  precipice  without  toppling  over. 

A  wealthy  man,  owning  a  fine  country  home 
far  up  on  a  mountain-side,  desired  the  services  of  a 
coachman.  The  road  leading  to  his  place  was  very 
dangerous.  It  skirted  the  edge  of  great  caverns  and 
made  many  sharp  turns.  Several  applicants  sought 
the  position;  the  same  question  was  asked  each, 
"  How  near  can  you  drive  to  the  edge  of  th*^  preci- 
pice without  going  over  ?  " 

The  first  rephed,  "I  think  I  could  go  within 
two  inches." 

The  wealthy  man  said,  "You  will  not  do." 

The  second  Ihouglit  he  could  go  within  an  inch, 
and  was  promptly  refused. 

The  third  man  was  an  Irishman.     His  reply 
was,  "  V       -ra,  I  'd  kape  as  far  away  as  I  could." 

Pn   ,,ptly  came  the  answer,  "You're  the  man 
I  'm  looking  for.     The  place  is  vours." 

{'121  ] 


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» f-A ' 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

Thomas  De  Witt  Talinagc,  in  one  of  his  most 
popular  lectures,  "Big  Blunders,"  speaking  of  in- 
dulgence in  bad  temper,  said; 

"Good  humor  w-ill  sell  the  most  goods,  plead  the  best 
argument,  effect  the  best  cure.  TIic  poorest  business  firm 
in  town  is  Growl,  Spitfire  &  Brothers. 

"  They  blow  their  clerks.  They  insult  their  custom- 
ers. They  quarrel  with  the  draymen.  They  write  impu- 
dent duns.  They  kick  the  beggars.  The  children  shy  off 
as  they  pass  the  street,  and  the  dogs  with  wild  yelps  clear 
the  path  as  they  come.  Acrid,  waspish,  fretful,  explosive, 
saturnine,  suddenly  the  money  market  will  be  astounded 
with  the  defalcation  of  Growl,  Spitfire  &  Brothers. 

"  Merryman  &  Warmgrasp  were  jwor  boys  when  they 
came  from  the  country.  They  broiiglit  all  their  posses- 
sions in  one  little  pack  slung  over  their  shoulders.  Two 
socks,  two  collars,  one  jack-knife,  a  paper  of  pins,  and  a 
hunk  of  gingerbread  which  their  mother  gave  them  when 
she  kissed  them  good-bye  and  told  them  to  be  good  boys 
and  mind  the  boss. 

"They  smiled  and  laughwl  and  bowed,  and  worked 
themselves'up  higher  and  higher  in  the  estimation  of  tlieir 
employers.  They  soon  had  a  store  on  the  corner.  They 
were  obliging  men,  and  people  from  the  country  left  their 
carpet-bags  in  that  store  when  they  came  to  town. 

"  Henceforth  when  the  farmers  wanted  hardware  or 
clothing  or  books,  they  went  to  buy  it  at  the  place  where 
their  carpet-bags  had  been  treated  so  kindly.  The  firin 
had  a  way  of  holding  up  a  yard  of  cloUi  and  'shining  on ' 
it  so  that  plain  cassiniere  would  look  almost  as  well  as 
broadcloth;  and  an  earthen  pitcher  would  glisten  like 
porcelain. 

"  Not  by  the  force  of  capital,  but  by  having  money- 
drawer  and  counting  desk  and  coualor  and  shelves  all  full 
of  good  temper,  they  rose  in  society,  until  tu-day  Merryman 

(122] 


W 


if 


The  Quick -Tempered  Salestnati 

&  Wanngrasj)  have  one  of  the  largest  stores,  and  the  most 
elegant  show  windows,  and  the  finest  carriages,  and  the 
prettiest  wives  in  all  the  town  of  Shuttleford." 

Many  a  salesman  has  gone  down  under  his  tem- 
per. They  usually  begin  by  pluming  themselves 
with  the  idea  that  their  firm  does  not  expect  its  men 
to  make  doormats  of  themselves  for  crusty  custom- 
ers to  wipe  their  feet  on.  That  is  a  greatly  over- 
worked iuoa  with  those  who  have  a  short  hold  on 
their  tempers.  They  end  with  kicking  themselves 
out  of  that  very  firm  and  the  good  grace.:  of  their 
trade,  because  they  are  continually  going  about  with 
chips  on  their  shoulders,  looking  for  trouble. 

People  who  have  never  seen  the  tide  come  in  at 
the  ocean  beach  do  not  understand  it. 

Like  the  development  of  a  bad  temper,  the 
waves  creep  slowly  up  at  first  and  then  recede. 
"The  tide  is  going  out,"  says  one;  "the  sea  is  going 
down."  Ere  it  is  gone  another  wave  comes.  This 
time  it  reaches  a  higher  point;  but  it  recedes  again, 
and  he  says,  "Surely  the  tide  is  going  out,  and  the 
sea  is  going  down."  Again  a  wave  rolls  in,  this 
time  it  comes  higher;  and  presently  the  tide  is  full. 

So  with  the  advance  of  an  ungovemed  temper 
—  its  baneful  influence  engulfs  and  destroys  every 
chance  the  salesman  ever  had  to  become  a  power  in 
his  profession. 

Some  one  has  .said,  "A  melancholy  musician 
[123] 


'^.r^rmiLimi 


■*  ■• 


:^-^^-^^■   .:sf6V''vV'^.VC*!-.   -■    '- 


I 


Men  Who  Sell  Thinga 

may  compose  a  Dead  March,  and  make  harp  weep 
and  organ  wail;  but  he  will  not  master  a  Battle 
March,  or  with  that  grand  instrument,  the  organ, 
storm  the  castles  of  the  soul  as  with  flying  artillery 
of  light  and  love  and  joy.  until  the  organ  ])ipes  seem 
filled  with  a  thousand  hosannas." 

When  a  salesman  boils  over  quickly,  you  soon 
find  out  what  is  in  him. 

Show  courtesy  to  others,  not  because  they  are 
gentlemen,  but  because  you  are  one. 


imj 


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\    '.V 


The  Sky -Rocket  Salesman 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE   SKY-ROCKET  SALESMAN 

A  aaleaman  who  seeks  to  establish  him- 
self on  a  good  footing  by  unfair  means 
is  soon  spotted  by  his  trade  and  by 
his  fellow-salesmen,  lie  loses  the  con- 
fidence of  the  first  and  the  friendship 
of  tJie  latter.  He  is  not  a  salesman, 
but  a  bribe-giver,  or  something  worse. 

NEARLY  every  phase  of  salesmansaip  lias  been 
made  an  exhaustive  subject  of  discussion  at 
some  time  or  other,  but  all  too  little  has  been  said  or 
>ntten  concerning  the  Wear-well  salesman.  Just 
here,  however,  while  we  are  attempting  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  negative  t^-pes,  the  Sky-rocket  looms  up 
as  the  opposite  of  the  Wear-well  class,  those  who 
serve  as  beacon-lights  along  the  shore  of  salesman- 
ship. 

The  mariner  attempting  to  guide  his  ship  safel} 
into  harbor  on  a  dark  and  stormy  night  would  be- 
come ^pelessly  lost  in  his  bearings  with  nothing  but 
sky-rockets  to  beckon  him  into  haven.  The  steady 
glare  of  the  trusty  light  on  the  rocky  point  is  his  one 
hope. 

Sky-rockets  are  used  at  sea  as  signals  of  distress 
to  attract  tV  attention  of  passing  sliips  or  of  the 
Hfe-savnig  station,  fo  their  helpless  condition. 


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V  ! 


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Men  Who  Sell  Things 

The  Sky-rocket  salesman  is  evrr  a  signal  of  dis- 
tress, causing  much  conceni  to  the  unfortunate  house 
with  which  he  is  connerte«l.  A  flash  in  the  j)an;  a 
streak  of  light;  an  outburit  of  sparks;  a  thin  Hne  of 
smo'.e  marking  its  meteoric  course;  a  smell  as  of 
something  burning  —  anJ  all  is  over  but  tlie  drop 
of  the  stick;  and  who  can  predict  where  that  will 
•light  ? 

With  a  crash  and  a  thud  his  presence  is  an- 
nounced among  the  list  of  "  also  rans,"  whose  break 
down  on  the  course  prevented  his  finishing  the  race. 
Hftppily  this  type  of  salesmuiJ  is  gradually  disappear- 
ing, thanks  to  the  exacting  business  methods  of  the 
present  strenuous  day. 

But  the  occasional  flash  of  the  Sky-nK-ket  on 
the  horizon  of  professional  salesmanship  is  sufficient 
cause  for  reflection  to  the  sales  manager,  suggesting 
the  necessity  of  pointing  out  the  tnie  way  to  ultimate 
success,  wliich  is  possible  only  by  sure-footed  meth- 
ods, infinite  patience,  undaunted  courage,  and  un- 
blemished integrity. 

Even  when  a  salesman  understands  his  line 
thoroughly  and  knows  how  trade  conditions  stand, 
much  depends  on  the  personal  qualities  he  brings 
into  play  when  inter^newing  people. 

Selling  goods  of  even  the  highest  class  is  arduous 
work.  The  salesman  must  see  that  he  brings  to  his 
task  the   necessary   strength   ot  cliaraoter.     Tn    no 

[1W] 


Tlie  Sky- Rocket  Salesman 


other  line  of  business  is  a  man  so  quickly  reduced  to 
his  right  level  as  in  italcsmanship.  He  cannot  live 
for  long  on  u  false  plane. 

In  brief,  salesniaiiship  is  a  profession  that  finds 
room  for  all  kinds  of  minds.  But  a  man  ought  not 
to  rate  himself  too  hi<;lily  at  first.  When  he  suc- 
ceeds in  a  small  wav,  he  assuiedlv  will  be  asked  to 
fill  more  important  positions. 

It  is  rarely  the  case  that  the  Sky-rocket  sales- 
man is  designedly  unprofessional  in  his  methods. 
Tie  is  by  nature  oftener  imprudent,  or  unac(|uainted 
with  the  characteristics  of  the  finished  salesman, 
which  arc  produced  only  in  the  school  of  human  en- 
deavor taught  by  Master  Results. 

Again  he  may  be  the  victim  of  bad  training,  the 
result  of  unrestricted  latitude  in  business-getting. 

It  is  a  regrettable  fact  that  some  employers  are 
not  very  scruj)ulous  and  exacting  as  to  the  ways  and 
means  employed  by  their  salesmen,  so  long  as  orders 
are  forthcoming. 

They  wink  at  the  means,  satisfying  their  con- 
sciences with  the  fallacious  saying  that,  fair  or  foul, 
it  is  justified  by  the  end. 

Houses  that  tolerate  such  methods,  though  they 
do  not  actually  encourage  them,  generally  find  them- 
scbes  victimized  by  their  owni  men.  Sooner  or 
later  either  the  sheriff  or  the  receiver  takes  charge, 
leaving  the  unfortunate  salesman  to  drift  into  other 

[  1'"  ] 


m 


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Mm  Who  Sell  Things 


\ 


■r.  »t 


H 
) 


pursuits,  or  perchance  find  his  way  into  the  sales 
force  of  a  competitive  institution,  where  for  the  first 
time  in  his  career  he  is  given  a  real  introduction  to 
legitimate,  liigh-gradc  selling  and  merchandising 
metlKKls. 

Here  the  work  of  the  resourceful  sales  manager 
is  put  to  a  true  test.  If  the  suhjec-t  over  which  he 
labors  possesses  in  any  degree  the  rudiments  neces- 
sary to  the  making  of  a  successful  salesman,  the 
make-over  ])rocess  of  true  selling  education,  based 
on  knowledge,  character,  and  honesty,  begins. 

The  reward  for  time  thus  expended  affords  a 
peculiar  sense  of  gratification  to  the  manager  and  his 
house;  and  to  the  salesman  unbounded  hap])iness 
and  true-blue  loyalty  on  !»cing  won  over  to  a  sphere 
of  genuine  nsefuhiess  to  himself  and  others. 

The  disaster  that  may  be  expected  to  result 
from  ba<I  training  in  salesmen  is  exemplified  in  the 
experience  of  a  competitor  of  our  firm.  The  pro- 
prietor of  that  house  was  a  ))ioneer  in  the  business, 
and  made  considerable  money  in  his  day.  Being 
an  old  man,  howc\<T,  he  could  not  adjust  himself  to 
modern  methods.  Competition  l)ecame  too  strong 
for  him,  and  he  was  finally  forced  into  bankruptcy. 
The  business  was  taken  over  by  his  son,  who  secured 
enough  money  from  his  wife's  peo])le  to  settle  his 
father's  indebtedness  at  aliout  twenty-five  cents  on 
the  dollar.     Tlie  vouTig(>r  man  ])os.se.^sed  some  of  his 

[1-2H] 


The  Sky -Rocket  Salesmari 

lather's  peculiarities,  which  bordered  on  the  lack  of 
principle.  His  rciuaining  assets  were  in  the  nature 
of  a  college  education  that  he  did  not  seem  to  know 
what  to  do  with,  and  a  skimined-milk  knowledge  of 
the  business. 

In  spite  of  these  handicaps,  he  surrounded  him- 
self with  a  fairiy  oajiablc  staff  of  salesmen,  and  he 
really  had  a  working  chance  to  make  a  success  of  his 
undertaking.  lie  stiuted  in  to  manage  his  business 
fronj  an  office  chair,  and  that  kind  of  management 
soon  nins  its  course.  Like  the  foolish  man  who  turns 
on  the  light  to  look  for  a  burglar,  he  stood  out  boldly 
in  the  glare  of  his  unpractical  methods,  while  his  sales- 
men worked  out  his  niin, doing  about  as  they  pleased, 
secure  in  the  shadow  of  their  graft.  Those  of  the 
men  who  had  been  upright  soon  lapsed  into  careless 
indifference.  Others  robbed  their  employer  under 
his  very  nose,  with  little  fear  of  ])rosecution,  because 
he  was  in  such  bad  financial  straits  that  he  did  not 
dare  to  make  a  move.  Tn  three  years  niin  and  dis- 
grace fell  upon  that  house,  and  it  was  again  forced 
out  of  business,  this  time  for  good. 

By  no  means  are  all  Sky-rocket  salesmen  worth 
the  effort  to  save  them,  but  this  can  be  determined 
only  by  giving  each  a  fair  chance. 

The  trying-out  process  will  usually  demonstrate 
that  they  possess  marked  sj*'  smanship  ability,  which 
is  susceptible  of  Jiigh  culture  under  the  right  tutorage. 

[129] 


1 
^1 


ti 


I 


u  > 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

To  harness  their  enthusiasm  with  judgment, 
create  in  them  singleness  of  purpose,  impregnate 
their  seHing-talk  with  logical,  honest  arguments, 
and  endow  them  with  wear- well  qualities  requires 
patience;  hut  all  this  is  possible  of  accomplishment 
under  a  firm  hand. 

Is  it  worth  uiiile? 

Certainly.  The  best  salesmen  any  house  ever 
employed  are  secured  in  this  way;  but  there  must  be 
a  good  foundation  to  build  on.  The  tnnible  is, 
many  employers  will  not  be  bothered  with  this 
class.  As  soon  as  they  discover  their  weaknesses, 
out  the  weaklings  go.  And  what  comes  then  ? 
Order -takers,  perhaps,  to  fill  their  places. 

Give  vie  cnthvttiusm  —  even  though  perverted  — 
rather  than  indolence. 

Now,  let  us  see  how  it  works  out. 

A  Sky-rocket  salesman  once  secured  a  position 
with  my  house  on  the  recommendation  of  one  of  our 
old  travellers  who  knew  him  by  reputation  as  being 
a  good  man.  And  right  here  let  me  emphasize  the 
fact  that  tlure  is  a  vast  diflFerence  between  reputa- 
tion and  ability  or  character.  "  Character  is  what  a 
man  is;   reputation  is  what  he  seemeth  to  be." 

We  fixed  up  a  territory  for  our  new  man  and 
started  him  out  with  our  hopes  keyed  up  to  the  last 
peg- 

Our  confidence  was  shaken  by  a  letter  received 
[ISO] 


The  Sky -Rocket  Salesman 

before  he  had  been  out  a  week.  He  ad\'ised  us,  on 
making  a  certain  town,  that  the  only  merchant  to 
wliom  we  would  pass  credit  was  trading  at  a  neigh- 
})()ring  house,  concluding  his  statement  with  a 
rcfjuest  to  send  the  merchant  a  letter  under  j)Iain 
envelo])e.  addressed  in  care  of  our  competitor,  in- 
viting '  to  call  and  inspect  our  line  while  in 
the  cit . 

We  leplied  that  we  considered  his  request  a 
breach  of  business  ethics,  and  that  our  policy  did 
not  countenance  such  procedure,  adding  a  few 
side-lights  on  legitimate,  clean-cut,  above-board  sell- 
ing methods. 

His  first  trip  ended  with  a  gratifying  showing  in 
sales  as  iiidicatcd  on  the  surface,  and  our  hopes  in 
him  seemed  m  a  fair  way  to  be  realized. 

A  little  later,  however,  goods  were  returned 
from  every  section  of  his  territory,  with  the  state- 
ments, "  Not  ordered,"  or  "  Ordered  on  approval;  if 
not  satisfactory  to  be  returned."  These  claims  for 
credit  were  accompanied  by  claims  for  express 
charges,  extra  discounts,  and  all  manner  of  things 
not  quite  consistent  with  fixed  deals.  Mr.  Sky- 
rocket had  promised  to  do  tlsus  and  so,  his  customers 
^Totc,  but  investigation  of  the  order  sheets  sent  in 
failed  in  every  instance  to  discover  any  record  of 
these  sj)ecial  arrangements.  We  were  continually 
being  p!  xced  in  the  embarrassing  position  of  pitting 

1131] 


•,  i'.l 


/I  L 


i 


^ 


y 


« 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

the  word  of  our  salesman  against  that  of  his  cus- 
tomers. 

We  l)egan  to  realize  that  our  prize  package 
contained  a  sky-rocket,  hut,  on  the  whole,  enough 
goods  ".stuck"  to  convince  us  that  we  really  had  a 
go  d  man,  provided  he  could  be  made  over  to  do 
business  our  way.  We  lost  no  opportunity  of 
taking  him  vigorously  to  task.  We  gave  him  to 
understand  how  we  wished  him  to  govern  himself 
in  the  discharge  of  our  affairs. 

Gradually  a  little  improvement  was  noticed. 
Complaints  l)ecame  less  frequent  and  his  sales  coi.- 
tinued  to  increase;  but  at  best  he  was  nervous. 
He  got  mad  at  little  "cropy"  customers  because 
they  did  not  buy  enough  goods  to  suit  him,  then 
he  would  vaiy  Hie  programme  by  writing  in  that  this 
or  that  line  was  not  up  to  the  standard,  ^\'hen 
he  had  exhausted  his  regular  line  of  specialties,  he 
would  wrangle  about  his  expense  account.  He  was 
always  "out"  in  making  a  settlement  to  the  house, 
notwithstanding  that  it  was  expressly  understood 
from  the  beginning  thai  his  daily  allowa  ice  was  not 
to  exceed  a  stipulated  amount. 

Training  that  man  was  more  like  an  experi.'nce 
in  fitting  two  lengths  of  stove-pipe  than  anything  I 
have  ever  undertaken.  As  soon  as  one  side  was 
nicely  adjusted  it  would  bulge  out  on  the  other.  If 
you    have    ever   done   any   stove-pipo  fitting,   you 

(  132  ] 


The  Sky -Rocket  Saleavmn 

knoTi'  that  it  is  the  most  exasperating  work  that 
man  was  ever  engaged  in.  Finally,  mth  the  aid 
of  many  heart-to-heart  talks,  we  convinced  him  thai 
there  was  but  o!u  'ay  in  which  h*^  could  ever  hoj)c 
to  build  a  safe  and  sound  career;  that  lie  would 
never  again  have  so  good  a  chance  to  make  the  best 
of  his  opportunities  in  life;  that  if  he  failed  to  make 
good  with  us,  the  crisis  in  his  business  career  would 
have  been  reached,  then  would  con-e  the  reaction  in 
a  down-grade  pace  that  all  the  influence  in  the  world 
could  not  check 

The  turning-point  came  at  last,  and  with  it 
the  admission  from  iNIr.  Sky-rocket  that  it  was  in- 
deed a  revelation  to  him  to  sec  the  maimer  in 
which  our  business  was  conducted,  his  great  regret 
being  that  he  had  been  deprived  of  such  training 
earlier  in  life. 

His  territory,  which  was  generally  hated,  was 
in  "  the  enemy's  country.  "  Under  the  new  life  thai 
our  made-over  salesman  gave  it,  however,  it  devel- 
oj>ed  into  one  of  the  best  selling-assets  of  the  house. 

The  salesman  who  secures  patronage  for  the 
moment  by  over-colored  propositions  and  loosely 
fixed  piinciples  does  no  lasting  harm  to  either  his 
trade  or  his  house.     He  merely  fools  himself. 

If  ]Mr.  Sky-rocket  will  stop  cheating  himself 
and  look  honestly  into  his  career,  he  can  read  there 
pretty  accurately  what  is  going  to  happen  to  him. 

[  1-53  ] 


''li 


i 


i 


Me7i  Who  Sell  Titiugs 

And  l)e>t  of  all,  not  onh  >  an  lie  foretell  iiis  own 
business  fortune,  but  he  caii  control  it,  if  he  will  I)p 
•guided  and  warned  by  the  weaknesses  Mritfen  on 
the  pages  of  his  own  personalit}. 

If  you  are  a  Sky-rocket  salesman,  don't  look  a; 
the  picture  of  your  past  misdirected  effort,  in  a 
careless  kind  of  way. 

Don't  say,  "  I  'm  just  as  good  a  salesman  as  So- 
and-so."  I  know  lots  of  j)eople  who  nii^ht  well 
investigate  their  own  characters.  Whni  you  retire 
for  the  night  look  into  your  own  mctJiods-,  .study  your 
own  weaknessps:  Tell  yourself  truthfully  iust  where 
you  fell  down  on  this  or  that  transaction,  and  fullovy 
along  the  line::  of  your  misconduct  to  the  ineyitaljle 
end.  If  you  are  the  least  bit  of  a  philosopher,  you 
can  see  that  the  end  will  be  failure  and  dischar}.;e, 
unless  you  are  sincere,  and  mean  to  l)c  j;;uided  by 
what  you  see  in  your  tharacter  study. 

Make  a  new  and  determined  eft'ort  to  put 
yourself  vmder  the  sort  of  control  that  leads  to  riches 
and  honor. 

The  young  man  going  out  on  the  road  for  the 
first  lime,  if  he  is  made  of  the  right  stuff,  will  soon 
learn  the  importance  of  knowing  what  not  to  do  to 
insure  his  ultimate  success 

A  well-known  authority  on  salesmanship  s^avs: 

"The  reason  why  there  is  no  work  in  the  world  like 
that  of  the  travelling  salesman,  where  a  man's  actions  will 

f  i-'i4 ; 


The  Sky -Rocket  Salesman 

w>  quickly  determine  his  success  or  failure,  is  because  jier 
liaps  that  in  no  other  vocation  is  a  man  put  so  absolutely 
upon  his  own  honor  and  ability  to  work  out  his  own  salva- 
tion." 

The  realization  of  this  does  not  come  with  the 
first  trip.  A  salesman  gets  to  know  it  only  after  he 
has  been  })acking  and  unpacking  trunks  for  several 
years.  The  best  tlie  salesman  can  attain  to  is  what 
he  leanis  by  the  "rubbing"  process,  taught  only 
througli  bitter  lessons  in  the  school  of  experience. 

Learn  in  this  school  how  to  avoid  doing  the 
wrong  thing. 


/       i 


I 


Cissl 


■— '^"'^^'^ 


■gammmamtm 


wm 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 


i- 


i ) 


i 


m 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  ALL-HEAI)-.vND-NO-SOUL  SALESMAN 

Sharp  men  do  not  cut  much  ice. 

THE  riches  of  salesmanship  depend  as  much 
upon  what  we  sow  as  what  we  save. 

The  All-head  man  is  like  a  sponge,  absorbing 
everything  md  giving  out  nothing.  There  is 
neither  muLii  of  sentiment  nor  of  sympathy  in  his 
mental  make-up. 

We  hear  it  said  that  the  actions  of  one  man 
proceed  from  his  head,  and  those  of  another  from 
his  heart.  This  difference  is  usually  pointed  out  by 
the  man  who  piides  himself  on  being  "heady." 
It  is  well  to  be  "  heady,"  as  the  term  goes,  but  there 
is  such  a  thing  as  being  too  heady. 

A  salesman  is  too  "heady"  when  he  measures 
the  value  of  ever}'  sale  by  mere  head-work,  and  does 
not  allow  anything  for  the  natural  influence  of  the 
soul  quaUties;  when  he  does  not  take  into  considera- 
tion the  greater  results  which  might  have  been  at- 
tained through  combining  brain  stuff  with  soul  stuff. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  salesman  is  ruled  too 
much  by  his  heart  ^vhen  he  disregards  his  head  and 
either  ignorantly  or  carelessly  acts  contrary  to  what 
sound  experience  has  proven  to  be  true. 


TIte  All- Head- and- No- Soul  Sales ruan 

Give  heed  to  this,  then:  Use  your  head  to 
make  your  j)lam  and  carry  them  out,  but  dmit  neglect 
the  promptinyn  of  your  heart,  just  hcouuse  you  uieel 
with  a  few  men  who  have  more  heart  than  common 
sense.  Soul  Cjuahties,  those  which  spring  from  the 
heart,  give  life  to  your  plans  and  actions.  Balance 
head  action  with  heart  action.  I  have  known 
some  very  brainy  men  who  were  wretched  salesmen, 
simply  because  they  had  neglected  to  develop  soul 
quahties  gathering    their     mental     equi])nient 

together.     But  you  could  not  get  them  to  see  it. 

The  hardest  kind  of  man  to  reach  is  the  All- 
head  man.  "Stuff  and  nonsense,"  says  he,  when 
you  talk  about  the  soul  playing  any  part  in  sales- 
manship. He  waves  you  off  with,  "That  will  do 
for  women  and  children,  but  don't  talk  it  to  me." 

Strangely  enough,  failure  is  never  humble. 

That 's  because  some  one  else  is  always  to 
blame.  We  ourselves  make  our  successes;  the 
other  fellow  makes  our  failures.  Failure,  therefore, 
always  thinks  itself  deserving  of  the  success  which 
it  has  not  achieved. 

The  science  of  salesmanship  involves  the  exer- 
cise of  the  positive  qualities  of  the  body,  mind,  and 
soul.  The  last  is  perhaps  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant factors  in  successful  salesmanship.  Practical 
psychology  as  a  mighty  motive  power  in  business- 
getting  is  receiving  marked  attention  on  the  part  of 

1137] 


Si 

id 

i1 


aa 


■tMHOB 


MM 


lolj 


lis«! 


Me?i  Who  Sell  Things 

intelligent  commercial  men  everywhere.  If  travel- 
ling salesmen  as  a  class  were  to  set  abont  the  develop- 
ment o.'  "'0  powers  and  functions  of  flic  soul,  such  as 
faith,  b  .ncriy  kindness,  and  reverence,  and  apply 
these  in  a  practical  way  to  the  daily  routine  of  their 
business  life,  the  results  of  their  work  would  be 
much  enhanced. 

On  a  certain  occasion  the  sales  manager  of  a 
large  house  called  one  of  his  salesmen  to  his  office 

and  said  to  him:  "  Mr.  C ,  you  have  rc])resented 

us  for  two  years  in  one  of  the  best  States  in  the  Union. 
The  results  of  your  work  have  not  been  what  we 
might  expect.  It  is  not  our  purpose  to  discourage 
you,  but  you  have  been  two  years  planting  .seed 
down  there  —  now  for  the  harvest.  We  shall  ex{)ect 
you  to  show  largely  increased  sales  during  the  next 
year. 

"Now,  let  us  examine  the  situation.  You  have 
an  excellent  territory,  backe<l  up  b}  the  strongest 
house  in  the  world  in  our  line;  you  have  a  personal 
asset  in  the  way  of  general  appearance  that  many 
men  would  give  thousands  to  possess — a  fine  phy- 
sique, a  pleasing  countenance,  and  a  good  knowl- 
edge of  the  business.     But  you  lack  one  thing." 

"What  is  that?"  asked  the  now  thoroughly 
aba'-.hed  but  intercsted  listener. 

"  Soul  power,  my  boy.  That 'sit.  You  remind 
me  of  a  £ne  piece  of  sculpture  I  once  saw  in  Rome. 

[138] 


The  All- Head-aiid- No- Soul  Salesman 

It  was  n  statue  of  Mows  l)y  Midirlangclo.  The 
work  was  so  lifelike  und  so  perfect  in  evcrv  detail 
that  the  great  arti«;t  was  ovcrcoirn-,  and  in  his  excite- 
ineiil  strink  it  a  severe  l)h)w  on  the  knee,  as  if  to 
awaken  it  lo  hf«',  aiul  conuiianch-d,  'Speak,  Moses!' 

'■  Your  work  lack.N  lifr hfe  of  a  nature  bom 

of  real  interest  in  your  eustoniers.  You  must  eulti- 
vatc  the  fpialities  that  will  enable  vou  to  get  close  to 
people,  permitting  you  to  play  upon  the  very  harp- 
chords  of  the  hearts  of  those  with,  whom  you  come 
in  contact.  Learn  to  <//•«//•  ihe  .fi/nipathies  of  yoitr 
ifudc  lo  you,  or  you  will  never  make  your  mark  in 
salcsvianship. 

"Now  it  is  an  actual  fact  that  Uien  generally 
act  more  on  feeling  than  judgment.  If  you  make 
your  customers  feel  like  buying,  they  are  pretty  sure 
to  buy,  but  if  they  do  not  feel  like  it  they  won't  do  it, 
even  if  they  know  ^'ley  ought  to.  Y'our  failure 
results  from  the  fact  that  if  there  is  no  desire  there 
is  no  possibility  of  doing  business. 

'"Go  out  now  and  see  if  you  cannot  make  your 
real  power  lie  in  your  ability  to  awaken  interest  and 
create  desire. 

"  Do  not  insist  upon  keeping  yourself  before 
your  custcmcr;  bear  in  mind  that  he  is  not  interested 
in  you  or  your  proposition.  To  make  him  care, 
Ijegin  as  soon  as  possible  by  talking  about  his  situa- 
tion,  never  mentioning  yf>urself.     Tn   '*hort,   show 

[  1-^9  ] 


I 


;    If 

;.  h 
'il, 

ii'il 


__, 


tJk 


Men    H'ho  Sell  IViings 

your  custoinciN  that  yoii   -ire  (Jocply  iutereste*!   .ii 
thciu." 

Mr.  (' thaiiki'd  his  nianugfr,  and,  <lej)arl- 

irig,  promised  to  act  ujK)n  his  advice. 

Tlie  very  first  day  of  the  following  week  recorded 
an  order  from  hiui  for  five  hundred  dollars  that  he 
secure<l  from  an  old  '*  hlue  line"  men  hunt  on  a  line 
of  goods  that  he  hud  always  honght  in  anotluM*  mar- 
ket. He  increased  his  .sales  that  year  twenty-seven 
per  cent,  and  all  other  departments  of  his  work 
sbowetl  a  decided  improvement.  He  »c»ntinued  right 
on  the  next  year  to  gro>v  in  usefulness  to  himself 
and  his  hfmse,  in  a  way  tl  it  he  had  not  dreamed  of. 

The  power  to  sway  peopK-  is  not  alt«)gether  a 
gift,  by  any  means.  It  can  Ik-  cultivated.  In  mo.st 
ca.ses  it  merely  nnjuires  an  awakening  of  the  soul 
faculties,  a.s  in  the  career  of  Mr.  C . 

The  great  majority  of  salesmen  have  neglecte<l 
this  .side  of  their  education,  either  fron\  ignorance  of 
its  tremendous  power  as  a  commercial  an<l  selling 
asset,  or  because  they  regarded  it  from  an  erroneous 
standpoint,  believing  it  should  be  rcgardetl  as  mere 
sentimentalism. 

The  work  of  tiie  salesman  differs  little  in  char- 
acter from  that  of  the  lawyer,  the  preacher,  the  actor, 
or  the  statesman.  In  each  of  these  professions  suc- 
ce.ss  depends  on  the  power  to  draw  and  pcr-unde 
people. 

[  HO  ] 


The  Au-^Iead-and'No-Soul  Salesman 

From  a  business  stuudpnint,  the  most  important 
sclf-knowhdgc  is  the  discernment  of  one's  powers 
and  the  jK)ssibihties  of  their  dcvdopinent.  One  of 
the  grvatcst  of  thcsr  is  the  power  of  attraction. 
Many  a  great  statesman  lias  attained  |»oHtical  favors 
of  the  hijjhest  nature  by  his  won  it-rful  psychoh)gi- 
cal  j)owers. 

Some  men  have  the  racuily  v.sily  winning 
consent  from  the  majority  of  their  uecpiaintances; 
at   least,  to  ahnost    anything   they   propose.      The 

essence   of   this  (piahty   is  not   in   their  h»gi( in 

the  arguments  and  reasons  with  which  tliey  are 
e(iuip[)ed,—  but  in  anmsing  an  impulse  in  the 
listener  to  agree  to  the  proposition  that  has  been 
aflvanced,  before  hearing  all  the  evidence,  which  he 
would  usually  require  before  making  up  his  mind. 

Some  years  ago  a  remarkable  demonstration 
along  this  line  occurred  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  when 
from  some  ])reviously  unheard  of  Western  town 
there  came  William  Jennir^gs  Bryan,  an  unknown 
Congressman,  as  a  delegate  to  a  national  political 
convention.  In  him  this  power  had  reached  a  won- 
derful degree  of  development.  It  had  an  irresisti- 
ble effect  on  most  of  the  people  who  heard  him.  lie 
did  not  have  to  force  the  acceptance  of  his  views  on 
the  convention  —  the  convention's  acceptance  was 
u  matter  of  course  so  soon  as  he  claimed  its  attention. 
The  man  from  the  West  sprang  into  leadership  by 

I  141  1 


1 1 


41 


jf^^im-^'^^^^mmj^mimii^i^^im!^:^  -'^^iK.  ■ 


V- 


l&lL 


Men  Who  Sell  Tilings 

acclamation;  he  received  the  unanimous  '..  >mina- 
tion  for  the  presidency  of  the  United  Statr^s,  putting 
all  other  candidates  entirely  out  of  the  race. 

Psychology  forms  the  very  basis  of  dramatic 
art.  It  is  that  power  developed  to  a  marked  degree 
in  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  that  causes  him  to  move 
and  sway  a  great  concourse  of  j>eople,  drawing  them 
to  himself  as  one  man.  Salesman  who  have  devel- 
oped this  quality,  in  relating  experiences  of  certain 
transactions,  often  speak  of  having  felt  a  peculiar 
power  of  persuasion  that  could  not  possibly  result 
in  anything  but  success.  Let  the  salesman  once 
taste  it,  and  a  peculiar  longing  to  meet  people  and 
sell  goods  will  fasten  itself  upon  'Jm,  impelling  him, 
like  Alexander,  to  look  for  new  worlds  to  conquer. 
He  will  then  have  come  into  full  realization  of  what 
it  means  to  exert  the  power  of  his  soul  functions  to 
the  fullest  degree,  and  his  success  will  be  an  assured 
fact. 

Merchants  will  buy  a  bill  from  the  purely 
"head  ''  man  now  and  Ihen  because  he  is  surrounded 
with  an  atn;ospl;crc  df  seeming  superiority  but  they 
do  not  bestow  on  hin)  large  and  continued  favors. 
Somehow  or  other  their  sympathies  are  inclined 
toward  the  genial  fellow  who  employs  genuine 
whole-hearted ness  with  liis  headiness. 

One  of  the  "  headiest "  salesmen  in  our  estab- 
lishment gloried   in   the  boast  of  a  twenty  years' 

[142] 


':wMmimm^^^^^MSfm^gm< 


The  All-Head-and-No-Soul  Salesman 

experience  on  the  road.  He  was  a  past  master  at 
analyzing  a  proposition;  a  regular  "stand  patter"  on 
system,  lie  constantly  held  up  his  sleeve  a  dozen 
theories  for  the  successful  management  of  every 
branch  of  the  business,  from  the  shipping  depart- 
ment to  the  office  of  the  president. 

He  kept  a  watchful  eye  on  every  one  about  the 
place.  For  any  one  to  make  a  mistake  was  with  him 
an  unpardonable  sin.  If  an  error  occurred  in  any 
department,  he  went  railing  and  fuming  a'out. 
unmindful  of  the  fact  that  his  business  was  that  of 
selling  goods;  forgetting  in  his  uncharitableness,  or 
rather,  perhaps,  never  having  known  that  the  man 
who  never  made  a  mistake  never  made  a  success  of 
bimness. 

There  was  a  certain  geniality  of  facial  expression 
about  this  mathematically  correct  stickler  for  pre- 
cise business  methods,  but  there  was  no  sunshine 
in  his  soul.  He  never  spoke  a  kind,  helpful  word 
to  any  one  or  about  any  one.  He  had  no  sympathy 
in  common  with  his  fellowmen,  not  the  faintest  con- 
ception of  the  life-gi\ing  precepts  founded  on  the 
brotherhood  of  man. 

^Miile  still  a  young  man,  in  place  of  crowning 
each  successive  year  with  increasing  sales,  he  be- 
came soured  and  embittered,  on  finding  his  annual 
sales  falling  off  and  his  salary  cut  down.  This  same 
man  might  have  been  a  power  in  his  profession,  had 

[143] 


<;|i 

<"'l 


m 


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mmmaM 


JMBM^^- 


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«er  --'W 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

he  but  known  and  applied  the  A  B  C  of  practical 
psychology  in  the  daily  routine  of  his  work. 

The  brand  of  salesmanship  that  pays  is  the  sort 
that  plants  th  ■  jced  of  the  brotherhood  of  man  in  the 
sold,  cheeriuess  and  gentleness  in  the  voice  and  man- 
ner, charity  toward  others  in  the  thoughts,  and  a 
sympathetic,  whole-souled  genuineness  in  the  hand- 
shake.    There  is  no  better  selling-asset  on  earth. 

The  All-head  and  No-soul  Salesman  must  learn 
to  mix  soul  stuff  Avith  his  "gray  matter,"  if  he  ever 
expects  to  achieve  lasting  results. 


fl44l 


The  Old- Timer 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  OLD-TIMER 

DonH  get  your  headlight  behind;  reminis- 
cence means  stagnation. —  Elbert  Hubbard. 

NEXT  to  being  lurried  dc  /n  in  his  first  town, 
the  youthful  First-tripper  encounters  no  greater 
discoufagement  than  that  of  his  initial  meeting  with 
the  professional  pessimistic  C'd-timer,  with  his  per- 
petual grouch. 

A  few  words  with  this  gr  imbler  cause  the  young 
man  to  feel  that  the  whole  world  of  salcsnianship  is 
a  dismal  slough ;  that  nowhere  in  the  great  desert  of 
commercial  life  is  there  a  single  oasis  where  the  dusty, 
travel-stained  wayfarer  may  rest  his  tired  limbs  and 
take  fresh  hope  with  which  to  renew  his  arduous 
journey.  Nothing  in  the  wide,  wide  world  is  as 
good  as  it  used  to  be;  everything  is  on  the  highway 
to  perdition.  If  some  good  genie  could  only  come 
along  and  by  a  wave  of  the  hand  and  a  "Presto, 
cha^j  ""  turn  the  whole  business  world  backward 
twenty-five  '  r  thirty  years  to  where  it  was  when  he 
first  took  up  his  gripsack,  then  the  travelling  man 
would  have  a  fair  chance. 

Where  is  the  commercial  traveller  who  has  not 
encountered  him  and  given  him  a  wide  berth  ?  He  is 
to  be  seen  in  the  hotel  lobby,  disputing  bis  bill  with 

[  H5  J 


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f 


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ill 


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wmmm 


I 


Me?i   Who  Sell  Things 

the  clerk  because  something  or  other  went  wrong. 
Next  he  is  found  quarrelling  with  the  baggage  agenl 
at  the  depot  for  charging  too  much  excess  on  his 
trunks.  In  the  smoking  compartment  of  the  train 
he  is  telhng  the  boys  —  if  he  is  fortunate  enough  to 
have  any  listeners  —  that  business  has  gone  to  the 
dogs,  and  that  a  travelling  man's  life  at  best  is 
nothing  but  a  weary  pilgrimage. 

If  he  has  a  beaten  path,  he  is  soon  singled  out 
as  a  bore  and  left  to  himself.  For  the  same  reason 
he  loses  business,  his  customers  finding  pleasure  in 
giving  their  favors  to  the  man  who  approaches  with 
a  light  step  and  a  cheery  ,mile. 

Not  all  Old-timers  are  of  this  class  by  any 
means,  but  there  are  enough  of  them  to  warrant  a 
passing  glance  at  the  type.  The  best  thing  for  any 
young  man  to  do  is  to  leave  him  severely  alone  to 
continue  his  grumbhng  where  no  harm  may  be 
done. 

No  character  is  more  beautiful  in  the  business 
w'^rld  than  tliat  of  the  man  of  advanced  vcars  who 
has  come  all  the  way  down  through  the  trials  and 
uncertainties  of  a  busy  career  and  preserved  a  cheer- 
ful disposition  and  optimistic  temperanuiit,  keeping 
step  with  all  the  changes  that  betoken  progress  in 
any  line  of  industrj'. 

You  cannot  go  forward  to  any  |:)rize  without 
leaving  behind  many  things  that  seem  desirable. 

f  I4G  ] 


The  Old- Turner 

Pessimism  dwarfs  and  dries  up  the  soul;  it  kills 
ambition. 

Honest  admiration  for  progress  is  an  incentive 
to  good  work;  it  develops  and  gives  strength  to  all 
the  ambitions. 

Among  commercial  travellers  there  are  many 
men  of  actual  ability  whose  entire  lives  have  been 
thrown  away  because  of  their  bitter  hatred  for  and 
constant  opposition  to  progress  of  any  sort.  A  habit 
of  mind  once  formed  is  hardly  ever  lost;  and  there 
is  no  more  common  habit,  unfortunately,  among  this 
class  than  that  of  envy  and  l)itteniess  toward  innova- 
tions. Among  salesmen  how  many  words  are  wasted 
in  decrjnng  the  real  worth  of  others!  A  successful 
salesman,  old  or  young,  is  too  busy  to  think  of  chang- 
ing times  or  of  what  others  are  doing,  unless  it  be  to 
look  occasionally  v.ith  appro\al  and  admiration  at 
the  progressive  and  the  successful  and  say,  "I  am  glad 
tliat  times  are  growing  J)'jtter,"  or,  "  I  am  pleased 
he  is  doing  so  well.     I  sliall  try  to  improve  also." 

Do  we  not  all  know  instinctively,  as  soon  as  we 
hear  a  man  talk  optimistically  or  praise  another 
freely  and  highly,  that  the  man  \\\\o  talks  thus  is 
himself  on  the  right  track  't  Ai. ,1  do  we  not  all  know 
that  the  man  criticising,  attacking,  and  belittling 
real  eflFort  is  small,  and  growing  smaller.* 

Unless  the  heart  is  light,  ve  cannot  keep  pace 
with  the  times. 


\\i 


i» 


^-g^gmni 


mtm 


-♦  *«'V-.V, 


'lAli 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

"  Bigotry  puts  blinders  on  the  best  of  men." 

The  value  of  keeping  step  is  humorously  illus- 
trated in  a  storj- 1  once  heard  Alexander  H.  Revell, 
a  prominent  Chicago  merchant  and  public-spirited 
man,  tell  on  himself. 

In  the  year  1877  he  joined  a  regiment  of  State 
militia.  On  a  certain  public  occasion  before  Mr. 
Revell  had  graduated  from  the  awkward  scpiad, 
the  regiment  turned  out  on  dress  parade,  he  being 
given  the  end  of  a  line  in  the  march.  He  had  a 
maiden  aunt  with  soldier  blood  in  her  veins,  in- 
herited from  Colonial  days.  She,  with  others,  had 
a  prominent  place  in  the  store  window  facing  the 
line  of  march.  As  the  regiment  appeared,  her  enthu- 
siasm knew  no  bounds.  The  old-time  spirit  fired  her 
blood,  as  she  fairly  glowed  with  satisfaction,  com- 
menting on  each  company  as  it  passed.  When  the 
company  arrived  in  which  her  nephew  was  march- 
ing, she  was  observed  to  wear  an  expression  of  pf^r- 
plexity,  and  was  heard  to  remark:  "Look!  look  at 
that  company!  Ever}'  single  man  is  out  of  step  except 
my  nephew  Alexander." 

The  trouble  with  every  Old-timer  who  is  out 
of  tune  with  the  universe  is  that  he  thinks  everj'- 
thing  in  it  is  out  of  step  and  out  of  harmony  but 
liimself. 

"WTiile  engaged  in  a  special  line  of  work  in  con- 
nection with  the  Cliicago  Commercial  Association 

[UB] 


The  Old- Timer 

I  once  had  occasion  to  call  to  arms  a  large  number 
of  business  men  in  that  city  eligible  to  membership. 
Among  the  hundreds  of  replies  received  there  was  one 
from  a  man  old  i  ough  to  be  ray  grandfather  that  set 
iiiy  red  coq)Uscles  to  tingling.  It  is  the  best  illustra- 
tion of  optimism  in  old  age  thjit  I  have  ever  encoun- 
tered. In  the  hope  that  it  may  inspire  every  young 
man,  as  it  did  the  author,  I  publish  the  letter 
verbatim. 


"  My  dear  Siu: 

"  Your  kind  invitation  to  become  one  of  the 
Bully,  Busy,  Brother  Boosters  is  received,  and  I  am 
exceedingly  sorr\'  to  have  to  send  regrets,  only  on 
account  of  my  financial  inability. 

"  Yes,  I  attended  the  Goodfellowship  Supper 
and  took  great  delight  in  the  many  good  things  that 
were  said  about  Chicago,  and  to  see  the  determina- 
tion of  that  magnificent  bo<ly  of  live  men,  live  work- 
ers, showing  they  were  all  connected  with  a  live  wire, 
and  would  make  Chicago  a  good  place  to  live.  I 
first  saw  Chicago  the  year  that  Mr.  Wacker  said  he 
was  bom  —  185G. 

"  My  heart  is  with  you,  and  what  influence  I 
have  shall  be  used  toward  making  Chicago  a  greater 
Chicago,  and  in  doing  Avhat  I  can  to  improve  the 
condition  of  my  fellowmen. 

•'  I  have  been  closely  associated  vith  the  wholc- 
l  149  ] 


m 


I 


?ii 


mm 


f , 


Men   Who  Sell  Things 

sale  gn)cery  trade  of  Chicago  and  the  entire  North- 
west for  fifty  years,  and,  though  seventy-one  years 
old,  am  an  active,  live  l.ioker,  working  every  day  in 

the  year. 

*'  The  old  man  witii  the  na])kin  in  his  hand,  op- 
posite the  word  'ciation'  in  the  lov.er  left  hand 
comer  of  your  'Ap^)eal  to  join  the  Legion.'  is  me. 
I  just  got  in  by  the  skin  of  my  face." 

The  last  paragraph  of  this  remarkable  letter  re- 
fers to  his  attendance  at  the  Good  fellowship  Supper. 

Our  progress  is  made  by  what  we  forget  as  well 
as  by  what  we  remember.  Too  many  of  us  remem- 
ber the  wrong  things.  We  need  to  learn  what  to 
forget.  We  all  dislike  to  remember  that  we  are 
sometimes  wrong  and  need  to  be  straightened  out. 
It  hurts  to  have  the  kinks  taken  out.  Of  course 
you  have  no  kinks;  but  your  neighbor  has.— we've 
heard  you  say  so.  Well,  then,  it's  a  good  thing  to 
get  a  picture  of  your  neighbor.  It  will  help  you  to 
learn  how  he  can  be  straightened.  That 's  a  matter 
of  vital  importance. 

Diplomacy  above  all  other  things  should  become 
more  deep-seated  with  the  salesman  who  has  long 
sensed  in  the  harness. 

The  salesman  who  is  a  bom  diplomat  has  much 
to  thank  the  fates  and  his  parents  for;  but  what  is 
still  lacking  in  his  princely  heritage  may  be  acquired, 

[150] 


The  Old-Timer 

like  many  other  valuable  qualities;  without  it  the 
salesman  is  like  a  ship  without  a  rudder,  caught  in 
the  trough  of  the  sea  of  coniinorcial  comjietilion. 

Reduced  to  its  lowest  terms,  diplomacy  is  just 
-plain,  good  horse  sense. 

A  diplomat  is  a  man  who  jumps  from  in  front  of 
a  moving  train.  He  does  not  put  dynamite  in  his 
oven  to  dry.  lie  has  due  respect  for  the  hind  quar- 
ters of  a  strange  mule.  He  reins  up  on  perceiving 
a  red  light  in  the  centre  of  the  road.  He  talks  to  the 
point  when  he  addresses  a  brusque  business  man. 
He  does  not  feed  the  animals  at  the  circus.  He  be- 
lieves in  to-day,  and  that  to-morrow  is  worth  only 
twenty-four  hours  of  uncertainty.  He  believes  that 
human  nature  is  the  humanest  thing  on  earth,  and 
therefore  makes  his  own  deductions  for  egotism, 
grouc'hincss,  reserve,  penury,  and  woe;  and  he  does 
not  prod  them  with  a  sharp-pointed  rod  when  to  do 
so  would  bring  only  defeat. 

Chicanery  is  not  diplomacy,  and  policy  is  often 
deceit;  both  are  bogus  when  measured  by  the  stand- 
ard of  true  tact. 

It  is  mean  to  press  an  unfair  advantage,  but  the 
man  is  a  simpleton  who  refuses  to  recognize  the  ad- 
vantage that  is  rightly  his. 

The  born  salesman,  young  or  old,  is  the  one  who 
towers  head  and  shoulders  above  his  fellows  in  the 
science  of  reading  human  nature. 

[  l-^l  ] 


III 


I 


rfMI 


mm 


^■J 


%\t  ^'M.^^mw^4 


;A 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

There  should  be  no  age  limit  for  The  Man  ^^^lO 
Sells  Things,  pro\'ided  he  retains  his  youth  in  old 

age. 

**  //  is  better  to  wear  out  *.ian  to  rust  out.*'  Cood 
hard  work,  performed  with  a  cheerful  dlsiKisition  or 
leniperanient,  never  yet  produced  creeping  paralysis 
under  three-score  years  and  ten,  at  least.  Age  does 
not  disable  a  man,  but  inactivity,  lack  of  progi  ive 
instinct,  or  a  despondent  disposition  does. 

If  the  salesman  wants  to  preserve  his  useiulness 
and  likewise  liis  position,  he  must  not  become  an- 
tiquated in  his  methods. 

One  of  the  most  common  and  most  fatal  of  mis- 
takes made  by  many  middle-aged  salesmen  is  that 
when  thev  have  built  up  a  good  trade  and  are 
headed  w-  up  toward  the  top  of  the  sales  list  of 
their  firms,  they  seem  content  with  the  record  they 
have  made,  and  are  inclined  to  rest  on  their  oars. 
At  the  precise  moment  when  energy  and  advance- 
ment no  longer  enter  their  calculations,  decay  sets 
in.  The  trade  that  has  required  years  of  patient, 
intelligent  toil  to  establish  will  soon  be  gobbled  up 
by  energetic  young  fellows  eager  for  the  fray. 

1  well  remember  witnessing,  when  a  boy,  a 
twenty-fi\e-raile  bicycle  race.  It  was  the  champion- 
ship race  for  the  long-distance  record  of  the  world, 
and  was  participated  in  by  two  brothers,  famous  the 
country  over  for  speed  and  power  of  endurance. 

[  152  ] 


The  O/ii- Timer 


They  held  all  manner  of  medals  and  prizes  for  races 
won,  and  were  quickly  ])icked  as  the  winners  of  the 
race  on  that  day. 

It  was  a  beautiful  day;  the  occasion  was  a  gala 
one;  the  clear,  crisp  air  was  fraught  with  excitement 
in  anticipation  of  the  results  that  would  determine  the 
world's  chanij)ionship. 

The  two  brothers  were  cheered  again  and  again 
as  they  mounted  their  wh(H>ls  and  rode  leisurely  away 
to  what  was  generally  conceded  to  be  another  victor}' 
to  be  added  to  their  already  long  list  of  conquests  in 
the  sport. 

The  first  lap  of  six  miles  was  finished  with  the 
contestants  pretty  well  bunched  as  they  passed  th«' 
judges'  stand.  The  friends  of  the  favorites  ex- 
pressed surprise  because  the  brothers  had  not  left  the 
others  behind  at  the  offset.  Confidently,  however, 
they  beiiev(  1  that  the  finish  of  the  half  wouhl  sec 
then)  well  mi  the  lead. 

A  great  .shout  rent  the  air  as  the  riders  hove  in 
sight  on  the  second  lap.  As  they  came  nearer  it  was 
observed  that  the  brothers,  although  riding  close 
together,  were  distanced  several  lengths  by  three 
others  who  seemed  determined  on  keeping  the  lead. 
As  they  passed,  they  apparently  were  riding  easily, 
with  no  thought  of  defeat;  but  tlieir  apparent  con- 
fidence was  not  shared  by  the  anxious  crowd.  A 
foreboding  swept  over  the  ihrung  not  so  much  from 

[153] 


I 


i'l 

'Ml 
/■if. 


«■ 


^^ 


r 


Men   Who  Sell  Things 

the  position  of  the  riders  as  from  Miat  itulctinuble 
suspicion  that  all  was  not  right. 

Cries  of  dismay  were  quickly  supprcs.se<l  on  the 
assurance  of  the  over-contidont  ones  '  t  all  good 
riders  started  Miut  w»  , ,—  slowly  and  without  effort, 
—  holdinf.-:  in  rt  er^  o  llieir  speed  an.i  tnii^'th.  in- 
ereasinf'  those  a-  the  race  contiuue<l,  and  finishing 
wth  a  burst  of  both. 

Anxiously  we  waited  for  the  finish  of  the  three- 
quarters.  A  cloud  of  dust  iiiiiounctd  the  leaders 
in  the  distance  as  they  rounded  tlit  home-stntch. 
On  they  came,  tearing  like  nuu!  straitrlit  for  the  vsire, 
where  the  crowd  was  thickest.  Like  a  flash  they 
were  past  —  each  man  was  bending  h)wer  and  work 
ing  like  a  Trojan.  In  a  second  ti\cv  w«  re  out  o! 
sight  again  around  tlie  .  ur\'e  —  but  that  .second  was 
all  that  was  necessary  to  disclose  th  ■  sicke::ing  fact 
that  the  distance  between  the  broti  rs  and  the  first 
rider  had  not  been  diminished.  T  'onfi  'ent  ones 
still  adhered  to  their  first  theory.  h  seoned  t  > 

bring  a  measure     '"  assurance,  for  at  last  the  brothei 
were  working  with  a  dcterujination    ha='  borrle'-ed  on 
the  sup<'matural. 

The  agony  vas  snnn  over.     Tue  la-t       " 
finished  in  about  half  tiic  time  ?     ■  oth«       ur. 
quired.     .\s  the  riders  a-ain  ai>pe     -'d  in 
stretch   the   vast   crowd    was    on   '    >-toc.   , 
hoping  for  the  best;    which  mean     t  li< 

[1.54] 


IS 


The  Ld-'l    ^r 

njust  !)«■  'II  1)\  ti,  fav>  tes.  The  rii  who  had 
iield  tho  1<  ad  all  ah^iifr  wa  a  stranger,  ai=  i  naturally 
was  r<     iin.'d  »s  an  intrudrr. 

A!i   thirif:     must   end   some   time,   l.appily   i>r 
otherwise,  aiu!  that  raee  wa>  soon  finishe*!. 

There  i-  i.tth'  eUe  to  tell  that  cannot  ta-ily  '* 
iniii-^iiied-,     he  lnoth   rs  fai'  •<!  to  retail,     lie  positutn 
lost   on  the   -tiirt  ihr-Migh      ver  eonficlent  e  r.     .It.  iii 
from   |);i      in  hieven  >'nts.     ^Vhen  they  carnt        >   t<» 
*iu-    ju(i»;i-"    -land        W'uvs  '     i  disappoint  'd 
hei:    (1  lb*"  ;dmo>l  i      le  rms  fr<)  m  thei 

iii.  :  ;  arrie'  tfiern  av  y  troni  the  fiei  of 
whi<  b.  for  tht  a.  had  » -n  turned  ii^o  teff 
honor     eiiul't   no'         i  a   raee  tlu^  <l. 

ei?«      ipporlursiiy.      With    '5>at  -iit,   their 

ill         -ned  to  de'  letn  ikt-  the 


ics' 


on 
dar?i 


bird  witj      at     'rok   ■    winfj  thai     ' •^  'ai-        fiigh 

a<'ain.  tne  were  ii'  fnard  niiuli  •!  •  'tei  lat  in 
racing  <   rcles. 

^  'iffwp  seen  nii^.  v  such  case^  ai*-smen 

in  n\\   l)usine*>4  i-awf^. 

Z>o«V  rruiii'-  <i>:  I'fuati  I  yout  tnu  i -us  meth- 
ods; don't  l(>t  your  customers  -ee  that  youncer  men 
are  more  enerjTetic.  more  up-tf)-date  than  yourself. 

If  you  want  to  hold  old  cu-  >mers  and  niake  new- 
ones  every  \'  ■  — which  is  ai-ohi'  \v  necessary  — 
you  must  he  /     grcssive  and  (ujnres:,  re. 

March  t.rward  with  the  times.     Then  you  will 


</l 


t/i: 


.1 


u 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

hold  your  place  in  the  ranks  of  salesmen  as  well  as 
any  young  man  starting  on  the  road  to-day. 

Close  your  eyes  and  think  of  the  past,  the  pres- 
ent, and  the  future,  and  — 

"Gatiier  ye  rosebuds  while  ye  may, 
Old  Time  is  still  a-flying, 
And  this  same  flower  that  smiles  to-day. 
To-morrow  will  be  dying." 


It  is  far  better  to  he  optimistic,  even  though  we 
begin  late  in  life. 

"Drop  a  word  of  cheer  and  kindness  —  just  a  flash,  and  it 

is  gone, 
But  there  's  half  a  hundred  ripples  circling  on,  and  on,  and 

on, 
hearing  ho|x»,  and  joy,  and  comfort,  on  each  splashing, 

dashing  wave. 
Till  you  would  n't  believe  the  volume  of  the  one  kind  word 

you  gave. 

"Drop  a  word  of  ch"'/  and  kindneps  — in  a  minute  you 

forget. 
But  there  's  gladness  still  a-swelling,  and  there  's  joy  a- 

circlingyet; 
And  you  've  rolled  a  wave  of  comfort,  whose  sweet  music 

can  be  heard 
Over  miles  and  miles  of  water,  just  by  dropping  «  kind 

word." 


[1.58] 


hM 


h.^mt 


The  Old- Timer 
'  Hard  licks  make  good  Itick. 


The  Base-Ball.  Game  of  Life 

Life  is  like  a  base-ball  game. 
With  Chance  as  pitcher:  Fate, 

Alert,  determined,  pitiless. 
Stands  j;  st  behind  the  plate. 

Out  in  the  field  are  Hopelf3sne3s, 

Timidity,  and  all 
Our  other  weaknesses  prepared 

To  catch  or  stop  the  ball. 

The  stands  are  filled  with  many  who 
Accord  us  hoots  and  jeers. 

And  sprinkled  with  them,  are  a  few 
Who  give  us  honest  cheers. 

And  each  man  gets  his  chance  to  bat, 

And  many  fan  the  air. 
And  now  and  then  one  makes  a  hit. 

And  wins  out  then  and  there. 


m 
I  •* 


Life  is  like  a  base-ball  game, 

And  bitterly  we  choose 
To  fasten  all  the  blame  on  Luck, 

The  umpire,  when  we  lose. 
E.  KisER,  in  the  "Chicago  Record-Herald. 


[  1.57  ] 


rl 


m 


mm 


^M 


Mm  Who  Sell  Thin^ 


X    i 


•',! 


f' 

I 


* 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  RIGHT  KIND   OF  SALESMAN 

You  shall  find  no  boi/'s  jlaij  here,  I 
can  tell  you. 

Thou  ever  strong  upon  the  stronger 
side! 

Thou  Fortune's  champion  I 

When  the  hu  ly  burly  's  done.     When 
the  battle  's  lost  and  won. 

To  attempt  a  great  work  f^  to  become  a 
great  worker. 

No  mxin  rises  without  being  knocked 
down  a  jew  timcis 

The  front  door  to  success  lies  through 
the  garden  of  duty. 

A  sale.tman's  sciem    never  dies  so  long 
as  it  is  doing  something. 

SUCCESSFUL  salesmanship  is  a  product  of  the 
positive  (juahties.  Its  component  parts  might 
best  be  indicated  in  the  statement  that  the  Right 
Kind  of  a  Salesman  has  what  his  negative  brethren 
have  not. 

In  place  of  being  a  knocker,  he  is  a  booster; 
in  place  of  being  an  order-taker,  he  is  a  business- 
getter;  in  place  of  being  fussy  or  over-anxious,  he  is 
composed,  but  aggressive;  in  place  of  being  a  whecl- 

[  15&  ] 


«■ 


fs^B'^m- 


The  Right  Kind  of  Salesman 

barrow,  he  is  a  Great  Mogul;  in  place  of  being  a 
know-it-all,  he  is  keen  and  dignified;  in  place  of 
being  quick-tempered,  he  is  self-poised  and  genial; 
in  place  of  being  a  sky-rocket,  he  is  a  wear-weller; 
in  place  of  being  all  head  and  no  soul,  he  is  a  mix- 
ture of  both;  in  place  of  being  an  old-timer  or  a 
down-and-outer,  he  is  an  up-and-inner. 

By  this  I  do  not  mean  to  imply  that  right  sales- 
men possess  all  the  positive  qualities  that  enter  into 
successful  salesmanship,  but  the  average  is  good. 
I  have  known  many  "top-notchers"  in  our  profes- 
sion, not  one  of  whom  but  was  marked  by  some 
specific  qualification  that  easily  distinguished  him 
from  the  man  of  mediocre  ability. 

In  every  case  there  showed  development  of  some 
one  positive  quality  to  a  marked  degree, —  such  as 
educated  entlmsiasm,  unswerving  fidelity  to  pur- 
pose, persistent  determination  to  win,  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  his  own  bu.^iness  and  a  reasonable  con- 
ception of  business  interests  in  general,  with  a  fair 
balance  of  other  requisites,  like  tact,  honesty,  and 
good-fellowship. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  an  indispensable  con- 
dition for  success  in  every  career  is  contained  in  a 
single  word  —  WORK. 

The  little  girl  was  perfectly  correct  in  her  answer 
when  the  teacher  asked  her  to  give  an  example  of  a 
quadruped. 

[150] 


111 


^\ 


mm 


:^mim^ 


'  j^^fm^.S^l^t^m^m 


3Ien  Who  Sell  Things 

"  A  horse,"  was  the  reply. 
"Correct.     Give  another  example." 
"Another  horse."     No  room  for  doubt  there. 
And  thus,  in  this  and  every  other  age,  in  the 
lives  of  all  men  who  do  things,  there  has  been  but 
one  \»  ay  to  spell  success,  and  that  is  —  W-O-R-K, 
WORK. 

A  salesman  may  be  brainy,  but  he  must  work; 
honest,  but  he  must  work;  diplomatic,  but  he  must 
work;   optimistic,  but  he  must  "WORK. 

If  he  would  graduate  from  the  classes  we  ha\e 
been  discussing  in  the  nine  preceding  chapters,  and 
come  into  the  field  of  endeavor  worth  while,  h^  must 
work. 

What  dc  es  an  optimist  do  ? 
Having  the  choice  of  many  opportunities,  he 
chooses  them  all.     Just  the  reverse  of  the  pessimist, 
who,  having  the  choice  of  two  evils,  chooses  both. 

Again,  being  of  good  cheer  and  good  faith,  he 
counts  ever}'  day  a  good  day  in  his  struggle  for  self- 
mastery  and  higher  and  better  results,  looking  toward 
permanency. 

The  only  sure  way  to  win  is  to  commence  to  win 
from  the  start,  and  then— keep  everlastingly  at  it. 

Another  and  most  pronounced  feature  of  suc- 
cessful salesmanship  is  faith. 

It  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  get  many  otherwise 
bright  and  capable  men  to  realize  that  their  lack  of 

[  iw>  ] 


.r  •?«.  :':^w^m'^^m^m^mim'mif!Sj^Mm^^i^s^^'^ 


i 

1 


The  Right  Kind  of  Salesman 

success  is  more  often  due  to  a  lack  of  faith  in  them- 
selves than  to  any  other  one  tiling. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  inspiration  that  was 
mine  when  I  firsc  thoroughly  learned  the  lesson  of 
the  value  of  faith  in  one's  self  and  surroundings. 

For  several  years  I  was  equally  interested  with 
four  others  in  a  jobbing  business  which  was  located 
in  an  isolated  market,  and  which  yielded  but  a 
fair  working  salary  to  its  owners.  I  grew  restless 
because  we  were  unable  to  build  the  business  up  to  a 
point  of  greater  profit,  and  determined  to  cut  loose 
and  seek  more  lucrative  fields,  .vhere  there  would 
be  some  possibility  of  expansion. 

Having  carefully  considered  several  proposi- 
tions, I  finally  selected  the  one  that,  so  far  as  I  could 
judge,  held  forth  the  best  advantages  for  a  perma- 
nent and  successful  future. 

The  deal  closed,  I  removed  to  another  and  much 
larger  city  to  enter  upon  a  three  years'  contract  as 
sales  manager  for  the  largest  house  of  its  kind  in  the 
world,  employing  a  force  of  forty  general  salesmen 
and  twice  as  many  stock  or  house  men.  I  entered  up- 
on my  new  duties  filled  to  the  brim  with  enthusiasm, 
beheving  that  I  knew  salesmen  from  A  to  Z,  having 
travelled  myself  ten  years,  before  taking  charge  of 
our  own  salesmen  in  the  business  that  I  had  just  left. 

But  I  soon  learned  tliat  I  still  had  a  great  deal 
to  learn  in  the  management  of  so  large  a  force.    The 

[161] 


M 


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ii 


%    } 


Men  Who  Sell  Thirty 

experience  was  not  only  newer  and  larger  than  any- 
thing I  had  previously  undertaken,  but  my  new  house 
had  not  up  to  that  time  conducted  a  thorough  sales 
department  under  a  managing  head,  such  as  was 
then  being  installed  in  all  large  concerns. 

This  meant  that  I  had  two  new  propositions  to 
work  out  —  the  organization  of  the  men,  and  the 
organization  of  the  department.  And  right  here, 
with  all  due  respect  to  our  men  —  for  they  were  the 
best  in  the  business  —  let  me  say  that,  for  a  new 
man  coming  into  a  new  house  to  tackle  a  new 
proposition  like  that,  where  so  many  travelling 
salesmen  were  concerned,  was  like  running  a  col- 
lege freshman  up  against  a  Rugby  foot-ball  team  for 
the  first  time. 

Naturally  the  men  regarded  me  with  suspicion 
and  as  an  intruder,  coming  among  them  perhaps  to 
Umit  their  freedom  and  to  make  their  future  a  night- 
mare of  red-tape  rules  and  regulations. 

Carefully  I  figured  this  all  out  beforehand,  and 
well  did  I  know  that  I  should  have  to  gain  their  con- 
fidence before  instituting  any  radical  new  policies. 

Somehow  or  other  things  did  not  progress  as 
nicely  as  I  had  calculated  they  would,  and  I  began  to 
construe  their  attitude  toward  the  new  departure  as 
being  hostile  to  me.  The  men  were  slow  in  making 
or  reciprocating  friendly  overtures,  and  instead  of 
taking  things  easy,  working  the  meanwhile  along  the 

[  162  ] 


if 


The  Right  Kind  of  Salesvian 

lines  of  least  resistance,  I  began  to  force  things ;  but 
I  soon  learned  the  error  of  such  a  policy.     Every- 
thing was  really  going  along  as  well  as  could  be  ex 
pected  under  the  circumstances,  but  I  could  not  see 
it  that  way. 

The  trouble.^  Impatience,  that's  all, —  the 
common  fault  of  most  young  men  who  want  to  get 
on  in  the  world.  Impatience  is  about  as  useless  a 
thimj  as  any  young  man  can  encumber  himself  with. 
It  produces  no  end  of  worrj-  and  absolutely  notliing 
in  the  way  of  profit. 

The  trouble  I  was  experiencing  was  due  to  im- 
patience, and  was  for  the  most  part  an  imaginary' 
and  not  a  real  trouble. 

If  there  was  discord  in  our  work  together,  it 
was  simply  and  solely  because  I  was  continually  an- 
ticipating something  of  the  sort  —  as  the  boys  would 
say,  "  sort  of  egging  it  on  in  my  mind." 

I  worked  on  in  that  mental  atmosphere  for  sev- 
eral months,  chafing  inwardly  at  this  chimerical 
enmity  between  the  men  and  their  manager,  at  the 
same  time  putting  on  the  best  front  T  could  muster. 

Finally,  one  morning  I  had  an  awakening.  It 
was  a  rude  shock,  but  it  did  the  business. 

While  speeding  along  on  an  "I/'  train  to  tln^ 
(•flice,  I  began  to  arraign  myself  something  after  this 
fashion 

"You're  a  nice  sort   of  sales  manager!     You 
[  163  ] 


■!N   : 


I* 
1 


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S  il  V 


[\   "  <^ 


iV: 


I 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

preach  Faith  continually  to  your  men,  and  you 
have  n't  a  drop  in  your  own  veins.  You  're  not  will- 
ing to  meet  your  men  lialf-way  on  confidence,  while 
expecting  every  man  jack  o'  them  to  give  to  you,  a 
stranger,  the  fullest  degree  of  that  precious  article. 
Here  you  've  been  building  up  trouble  for  yourself 
in  your  mind  all  these  months  on  account  of  the  sins 
of  the  other  fellow,  when  the  trouble  lies  entirely 
with  yourself.  Now,  this  can't  go  on  much  longer. 
This  whole  business  is  mere  mental  moonshine,  if 
you  only  had  good  horse  sense  enough  to  realize  it. 

"  There 's  nothing  in  the  world  the  matter,  ex- 
cept wth  yourself.     Sweep  tlia  cobwebs  of  distrust 
out  of  the  place  where  your  gray  matter  is  supposed 
to  be  — and  likewise  the  despondency  out  of  yon 
mental  atmosphere,  and  things  will  look  dif  <    Mit. 

"You  are  doing  good  work.  You  have  heard 
no  complaint  from  headquarters.  Your  methods 
are  all  right.  Both  will  win  out  in  time  if  you  '11 
give  them  a  fair  chance.  Now,  brace  up  and  have 
FAITH  in  your  home,  your  vien,  your  proportion, 

and  yourself. 

"That 's  all  you  need  —just  faith,  coupled  with 

good  horse  sense." 

There  was  no  rebuttal  evidence.  The  examina- 
tion finished,  on  reaching  my  office  I  rested  the  case, 
and  that  was  all  there  was  to  it. 

From  that  hour,  things  took  on  a  different  hue. 
[164] 


11 


The  Right  Kind  of  Salesman 

Everything  connected  with  my  department  moved 
foruard  with  a  vigor  and  a  satisfaction  that  were 
reassuring,  to  say  the  least. 

That  mental  blue-print  of  myself  was  my 
salvation,  and  added  immeasurably  to  the  comfort 
and  well-being  of  all  concerned. 

It 's  a  great  thing  to  have  faith  in  yourself, — 
not  too  much,  but  enough  to  keep  you  from  slipping 
backward  in  the  race  for  success. 

The  famous  Glasgow  clergyman,  Mr.  John  Mc- 
Neil, while  prcacliing  in  Cliicago  during  the  World's 
Fair  year,  wishing  to  emphasize  the  value  of  faith, 
related  the  following  rather  remarkable  incident 
which  occurred  in  his  career  as  pastor.     Said  he: 

"Many  Christian  peo()!e  liave  their  prayers  only  half 
answered  because  they  have  not  sufficient  faith  that  they 
will  be  answered  in  full.     Let  me  illustrate  that. 

"During  my  pastorate  of  a  certain  church  in , 

we  had  occasion  to  make  extensive  repairs,  and  the  church 
was  hea%ily  in  debt.  It  worried  me  a  great  deal,  and  I 
made  it  a  subject  of  nuich  prayer.  A  stranger  called  on 
me  one  day  iu  my  study,  and  to  my  utter  amazement  he 
said:  'Mr.  McNeil,  you  do  not  know  who  I  am,  and  it  does 
not  matter.  I  understand  you  have  a  debt  on  your  church 
that  you  are  anxious  to  pay.  I  have  heard  a  great  deal 
about  you  and  the  work  you  are  doing,  and  I  want  to  help 
you  with  that  debt.' 

"Taking  a  check-book  out  of  his  pocket,  he  tore  out 
a  blank  and  laid  it  before  me  on  my  desk.  'There,'  said 
he,  'fill  that  out  for  the  amount  you  require,  and  I  will 
return  later  and  sign  it';  and  he  was  gone  before  I  could 
stop  him. 

[16d] 


i?i 


h 


J.I 


\l  i 


if 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

•I  sal  there  looking  ;it  th.tt  blniik  chec-k,  fiiiling  to 
(•otuprehend  what  it  all  meant.  Surely.'  suid  I.  *he  does 
not  realize  that  the  amount  of  our  debt  runs  iuto  tliousands 
uf  })<)unds  sterling.  He  would  never  give  that  much  if  h.- 
knew.  But  he  told  me  to  make  it  out  for  th'"  full  amount. 
No.  He  could  n*t  have  knowm.  I  Ml  put  down  half  tlie 
iiraount.  I  am  afraid  when  he  sees  how  large  it  is  he  will 
not  sign  even  for  that  amount.' 

"After  a  little  the  stranger  returned,  asked  for  the 
check,  anil  with  scarcely  a  glance  he  affixed  his  signature, 
took  up  his  hat,  and  left  without  another  word. 

"Mechanically  I  looked  at  the  bit  of  j)a})er.  tVlt  it. 
searched  it;  at  la.st  the  name  <lrew  and  held  ni>  gaze 
With  peculiar  force  tlie  tnilh  dawned  upon  me,  and  like- 
wi.se  the  genuineness  of  the  check.  The  signature  was 
that  of  a  wealthy  and  philanthropic  man  whose  generous 
aet-i  were  well  known  to  me,  although  I  had  never  met  hiiu 
Ivfore.  When  1  realized  that  he  meant  what  he  said,  and 
could  easily  have  paid  the  whole  amount  of  the  debt,  I  snid. 
'  O  man  of  little  faith!    I  will  never  doubt  again.'  " 

That  story  is  a  faithful  picture  of  many  men 
in  the  business  life  who  fail  to  take  opportunity 
when  it  is  offered. 

To  every  salesman  Opportunity  oi>ens  the  door 
to  success.  Those  who  perceive  and  enter  gain 
the  treasure.  To  those  who  do  not  heed,  Oppor- 
tunity says : 

Masicr  of  human  destinies  am  I: 

Fame,  love,  and  fortune  on  my  footsteps  wait; 

Cities  and  fields  I  walk;  I  penelr.ile 
Deserts  and  seas  remote,  and  passing  by 

Hovel  and  mart  an<l  palace,  .soon  or  late 

i  knock  unbiddc;.  once  al  cvtry  gate. 
(ICG] 


i 
1 


7Vic  Right  Kind  of  Salesman 

Jf  bleeping,  wake;  feasting,  rise  l)eforc 

I  turn  away.     It  is  tlie  hour  of  fatr. 

And  they  who  follow  me  reach  every  state 
Mortals  desire,  and  conquer  every  fo« 

Save  death;  but  tliow;  who  doubt  or  hesitate, 
('ondeiuned  to  failure,  penury,  and  woe, 
Seek  me  in  v.iiii,  and  uselessly  implore. 
I  answer  not,  and  I  return  no  more. 

John  J.  Inoalls, 

Successful  salesmen  —those  who  make  terri- 
tories yield  u  ]>eriiianent,  profitable  business,  the 
.sort  who  *'  wear"  Avell  —  must  and  do  possess  strong 
positive  force. 

Doubt  befoiTS  mind  force.  Indecision  cnicifies 
precision  of  action. 

Inoculation  of  doubts  in  the  salesman's  mind 
poisons  his  enthusiasm. 

There  is  little  doubt  that  the  degree  of  a  man's 
power  of  persuasion  depends  upon  his  earnestness 
and  enthusiasm. 

Persistently  thinking  right  vtcans  persistently 
acting  right. 

The  true  salesman  learns  what  kind  of  thoughts 
count;  he  thinks  them,  acts  them,  until  they  become 
a  part  of  his  being,  forming  the  directing  force  in 
his  success. 

The  Right  Kind  of  Salesman  begins  by  training 
himself.  From  the  first  mistake  in  the  first  town  of 
his  first  trip  until  he  lays  down  his  grip  for  the  last 
time,  he  is  in  constant  training. 

[167] 


i'l 


ij 


Men  Wko  Sell  Things 

Early  in  liia  career  he  discovers  —  and  what  a 
power  thiit  discovery  is!— -that  the  same  tactics  he 
would  em|j!oy  in  training  liis  horsv?  would,  if  used 
upon  himself,  .si-oun-  'lim  against  douht  and  failure. 

Over  and  over  again  with  infinite  jyjv'icnce  and 
fletorniination  hi  derlaivs  to  hirnself  with  spirit, 
"/  war'  and  "/  Jm"— until  he  come?  to  d  thor- 
ough hehef  in  his  jx.'ver  to  win  men  and  ules. 
Right  thinking  ami  right  doing  —  thase  arc  the 
means  by  which  he  heeps  his  name  at  the  top  of  the 
sales  list. 

The  Right  Kind  »>f  Salesman  has  no  fear  of 
opposition,  whether  it  be  from  his  customers  or 
his  competitors. 

HoA'  well  ho  knows  from  experience  in  his 
earlv  days  that  to  listen  to  nbuff  with  ears  that  hear 
is  hut  to  succumb  to  a  greater  f(»rce  than  he  himself 
possesses!  Shar]>  thrusts  received  in  the  school  of 
exrtericnre  cau-c  him  to  be  watchful.  Constantly 
he  cultivates  the  thoughts  and  jiabits  in  him-self 
that  teach  hini  how  to  parry  successfully  all  negative 
influence  from  within  or  without. 

All  ,'(uccessful  xulcsmen  are  opihni.'itic.  They 
see  o'.ly  the  side  of  things  that  wins,  and  recognize 
no  superior  among  competitors.  The  real  salesman 
so  schools  himself  that  he  is  able  to  sell  a  poor  line 
of  goods  on  a  poorer  territory,  solely  upon  the 
strength  of  his  own  jiersonality.     What  a  mighty 

[l«8l 


t 


The  Right  Kind  of  Salesman 

human  dynuiuo  he  is  when  he  fin<!.4  iii-'  lot  cast 
ani(  iig  circunntanccs  wholly  congenial!  And  so 
tl  0  «'oi!d  abont  hini  always  moves  onward  to  hetter 
«.!<!  Cfier  Jl.ings;  >iowly  but  surely  he  leaves 
btliind  to  rust  an«'.  Nhrivel  and  die  every  adverse 
sugj.  stion,  c'.erything  that  has  tended  to  lessen  his 

^wei. 

It  is  lack  of  brain  activity  that  keeps  the  class 
of  salesmen  that  go  round  and  riHuid  and  round, 
year  in  and  year  otil  doing  things  in  the  same  old 
way,  a! -ays  hugging  the  desj)icablc  place  at  the 
bottom  of  the  sales  sheet. 

It  is  lack  of  the  kind  of  brains  that  work  and 
dig  and  >vveut  till  they  tind  a  way  to  get  things  done, 
brains  '  lat  go  to  the  bottom  of  things,  i)rains  that 
are  always  looking  for  better  things,  brains  that 
never  give  up  a  problem  till  they  find  a  way  to 

solve  it. 

In  mechanics  lo-day  the  electric  dynamo 
stands  as  the  bitihest  development  of  mechanical 
power.  Among  .salesmen  the  highest  is  the  human 
dynamo,  the  naan  whosf;  brain  is  charged  with 
•lynamic  force;  whose  licart  is  on  fire  .  Hh  entim- 
siasm  and  push;  who  leads  the  strenuous  life  and 
likes  it;  who  is  always  di.ssatisfied,  always  fighting 
for  bigger  and  better  results;  who  sets  his  goal-post 
far  out  in  the  field  of  endeavor,  and  knows  no  rest 
until  Vic  reaches  it;    who  U  or^  ih.o.  keen  scent  for 

[  1'»>  ] 


i 


in 


i 


i 


H 


''I 


,  „;| 


'^! 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

newer  and  belter  ideas  to  help  him  in  his  work; 
who  is  willing  to  sweat  blood  to  get  what  he  wants; 
who  believes  the  head  of  his  house  and  his  manager 
know  as  much  as  he  docs;  who  believes  the  credit 
man  will  give  both  himself  an<l  his  customers  a 
square  deal;  who  believes  that  the  buyers  of  the 
establishment  that  pays  him  his  salary  know  as  much 
about  buying  goods  as  he  does  about  selling  them; 
who  knows  that  the  good.-,  of  his  house  are  good 
goods,  the  right  kind,  and  will  sell,  and  that  he  can 
sell  them ;  who  spurns  the  habits  of  indifference,  of 
shirking,  of  mischief-making,  of  arrogance  toward 
cu.stomers,  of  mutual  jealousy,  the  "click"  habit; 
who  avoids,  as  evidence  of  weakness,  such  thoughts 
as  "  Oh,  what 's  the  use  ?  The  sales  manager 's 
got  it  in  for  mo.  He's  a  dreamer,  anjTvay.  I 
alwnys  get  the  vvorst  end  of  everytliing,  no  matter 
what  I  do."  The  mx)del  .talesman  avoids,  as  worst 
of  all,  the  habit  of  fault-fimlitu/  and  criticism  of 
superiors.  lie  is  the  kind  of  salesman  that  forms 
the  title  of  this  chapter.  It  is  that  kind,  and  no 
other,  tliat  gels  the  big  prizes  in  the  business  game. 

\Vhat  are  you.  Mr.  Salesman? 

A  human  dynamo,  or  ju.st  a  common  member 
of  the  Sons  of  Rest.'  Never  mind  the  other  fellow 
—  how  is  it  with  yourself?    That  is  the  question. 

Are  you  cultivating  confidence  in  the  value  of 
your  own  ideas,  and  in  your  {nnvor  to  use  them? 

[  170  ] 


t  i 


The  Right  Kind  of  Salesman 

Did  it  ever  occur  lo  you  that  you  cotild  do  as  well 
as  others,  if  you  W(juld  only  bring  yourself  to  believe 

it? 

/  hai'c  ohscnrd  in  mini  if  successful  salesmen 
the  desire  and  irillint/ness  fo  grasp  at  every  good  idea 
from  any  source  that  will  aiil  them  in  making  sales. 
The  humblest  men  in  om  p^-ofession  are  those  who 
are  at  the  head. 

I  remember  on  a  certain  occasion  issuing  a 
statement  to  our  travelling  force,  wliich  was  intended 
to  inspire  in  them  an  optimistic  .survey  of  the  month 
upon  which  we  were  about  to  enter.  Tht  state- 
ment contained  facts  and  figures  of  the  month  just 
ended,  showing  the  percentage  of  increase  in  various 
dej)artments,  and  wound  up  with  a  forecast  of  the 
month  to  come  as  viewed  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  managing  .staff.  The  men  were  all  in  from 
the  road,  winding  up  a  period  of  house  trade,  and 
about  to  depart  for  a  "filling  in"  trip. 

A  few  minutes  after  the  letter  had  been  dis- 
tributed, I  chanced  to  saunter  <lown  "Salesmen's 
Row,"  the  name  the  stock-boys  had  given  the  aisle 
that  skirted  their  long  row  of  desks.  My  approach 
wos  unnoticed  by  a  grouj)  of  .salesmen  clustered 
about  the  desk  of  one  of  our  "Sons  of  Rest,"  who 
happened  to  have  the  di.stinction  of  being  the  ring- 
leader of  a  small  coterie  of  professional  critics. 

He  was  r(ading  aloud  fo  the  others  from  mj 
[171] 


in 


if 

1 1 


Men  Who  Sell  Thinga 

statement,  and  had  reached  the  part  concerning  the 
forecast  of  the  coming  month,  when  he  laid  the 
paper  down  and  in  a  tone  of  withering  sarcasm 
said,     Umph!    The  idle  dream  of  an  oflBce  man." 

Catching  the  exclamation  on  passing,  I  wheeled 
and  squarely  faced  him.  Perceiving  me  standing 
there  for  the  first  time,  he  became  confused.  His 
eyes  sought  the  floor  as  he  blurted  out,  "A  fine 
letter,  sir,  and  right  to  the  point.  Hit  the  nail  right 
on  the  head.     Yes,  sir,  hit  the  nail  right  on  the  head." 

Six  weeks  later  the  man  who  led  the  force  in 
point  of  sales  and  general  efficiency  bustled  into  my 
office,  just  in  from  his  trip.  Warmly  extending  his 
hand,  he  said  in  tones  of  deep  appreciation: 

"That  statement  you  compiled  just  before  I 
left  home  did  the  business.  It  helped  nie  wonder- 
fully. It  was  tough  work  landing  business  this  trip; 
but  on  one  occasion  when  I  had  sweat  blood  with  a 
dealer  in  my  sample-room  without  Ixnng  able  to 
sell  him,  I  pulled  out  your  letter  and  read  it  to  him. 
Stam])ed  as  it  was  with  the  authority  of  the  house, 
it  made  an  impresi.ion,  lulping  me  to  get  some  hard 
orders  that  otherwise  I  would  have  lost.  Send  me 
that  kind  of  stuff  as  often  as  you  get  it  out." 

His  attitude,  coupled  witli  that  simple  state- 
ment, furnished  the  key  to  his  success,  namely,  that 
he  was  alert,  and  made  use  of  everjlhing  that  could 
possibly  contribute  t(»  his  success  in  sales-making. 

[172] 


The  Right  Kind  of  Salesman 

A  day  or  two  later  brought  in  the  other  man, 
the  leader  of  the  Order  of  the  Sons  of  Rest.  As 
may  easily  be  imagined,  he  reported  a  poor  trip. 
He'had  all  manner  of  excuses  to  offer  for  his  failure. 
Failure  and  excuses  go  together. 

If  such  salesmen  could  only  read  what  takes 
place  in  their  employer  s  mind  wln'n  weighing  the 
salesmen  on  his  staff,  one  against  unotlirr,  there 
would  be  at  least  a  slight  hope  of  their  being  grad- 
uated from  the  Order  of  the  Sons  of  Rest,  but  their 
tmtrained  powers  of  calculation  do  not  admit  of  their 
philosophizing  so  far. 

BeUe\'ing  the  opportunity  was  at  hand  to  arouse 
:\Ir.  S.  O.  R.  Van  Winkle  from  his  state  of  selling- 
lethargy,  1  asked  him  whether  or  not  he  had  found 
the  statement  issued  by  the  sales  dej)artment  just 
before  he  left  of  any  use  to  him  on  his  trip.  He 
looketl  perplexed,  scratched  his  head,  and  remaiked 
thnt  he  could  not  remember  just  what  statement  I 
referred  lo.  There  were  many  statements  issued. 
He  thought  lie  could  find  it  in  his  grip,  where  he 
carried  all  current  mail  from  the  house;  he  would 
look  it  up  when  he  returned  home  that  evening. 

"No  matter.  I^-t  it  go,  let  it  go,"  said  I. 
'•  It  \s  too  late  to  use  it  now,  but  let  me  remind  you 
that  that  little  piece  of  paper  you  misinterpreted  to 
vour  fellow-salesmen  as  '  .Vn  idle  dream  of  an  office 
man '  helped  one  of  our  men  to  increase  by  a  goodly 

[173] 


m 


fj 


1 1  1, 


"■■■■     5^ 


it 


Men  Vho  Sell  Things 

margin,  while  you  have  been  idling  along  in  an 
atmosphere  of  self-satisfied  self-efficiency,  which  has 
amounted  to  nothing  more  than  inefficiency." 

The  salesman  who  hopes  to  get  on  in  the  world 
comes  to  know  sooner  or  later  that 

Knowledge  is  proud  that  he  has  learned  so  much; 
Wifdom  is  humble  that  he  knows  no  more. 

The  salesman  who  succeeds  believes  that  his 
position  implies  that  the  firm  puts  its  trust  in  him, 
that  it  calls  for  the  best  work  in  him,  and  that  he 
should  perform  it  to  the  best  of  his  ability.  That 
is  the  only  view  that  brings  any  satisfaction  to  the 
doer. 

Th£  salesman  who  skimps  his  work  iiot  only  runs 
an  ercellenf  chajwe  of  being  detected,  but  tie  is  con- 
stantly injuring  himself. 

The  position  of  the  salesman  at  the  top  of  the 
sales  sheet  may  seem  to  be  up-hill,  but  to  the  sales- 
man on  the  down-grade  it  only  increases  the  oppor- 
tunities of  the  up-grade  man  to  tr}'  to  cheat. 

No  salesman  ever  Iniilt  his  house  upon  the  sands 
but  some  liurricane  tame  along  and  blew  it  over.  In 
this  age  of  lightning-like  business  changes,  who  can 
predict  when  the  next  hurricane  will  arrive-  When 
it  comes  to  the  salesman  it  is  better  for  him  to  be 
living  in  a  secure  place. 

No  salesman  can  tell  lo  what  test  his  salesman- 
ship will  be  put.     It  is  better,  then,  to  fortifv  himself 

[174] 


The  Right  Kind  of  Salesman 

against  the  day  of  trial  with  true  knowledge,  so  that 
no  mailer  what  strain  is  put  upon  it,  his  professional 
skill  will  pass  through  tnumphantly  and  bring  to  him 
promotion  and  honor. 

The  most  selfish  salesmen  agree  that  it  is  poor 
policy,  if  nothing  worse,  to  cheat  oneself.  The  best 
is  none  too  good  to  ullempl. 

It  is  sometimes  necessary  to  have  nerve  enough 
to  lose  some  business,  in  order  to  gain  the  best  busi- 
ness that  is  to  })e  secured  on  your  territory.  X  great 
many  salesmen  form  tht-  practice  in  sales-building  of 
holding  a  dime  so  close  to  the  eye  that  they  fail 
utterly  to  perceive  the  dollars  beyond. 

One  of  the  most  successful  salesmen  of  my  ac- 
(juaintance  employed  the  quality  of  self-restraint  in 
his  work  on  the  road  to  a  marked  degree. 

At  the  time  of  my  first  meeting  with  him  he  was 
\erv  much  cast  down  because  his  house  had  inli- 
mated  a  desire  to  let  him  go,  for  tlie  reason  that  his 
sales  did  not  seem  large  enougli  for  tlie  territory'  he 
was  covering  —  mostly  in  large  cities. 

lie  related  his  experience  to  me,  and  his  })lan 
was  one  of  the  most  logical  I  have  e\er  known;  but 
during  the  two  years  he  had  been  repi'csenting  that 
house  he  had  not  been  able  to  secure  their  confi- 
dence to  the  extent  t'uit  he  could  frankly  ronfide  in 
them  his  plans  for  ultimate  succes>. 

We  talked  things  over,  and  I  encouragi*d  him  to 

[  n.->  ] 


I ." 


\'\ 


WIM' 


W 


1^ 


-n 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

persist  in  his  methods,  maintaining  that  they  were 
bound  to  win,  because,  whether  he  knew  it  or  not,  he 
was  working  along  highly  scientific  lines.  I  urged 
him  to  take  his  managers  more  fully  into  his  con- 
fidence, which  he  was  shortly  afterwards  able  to  do 
through  a  fortunate  combination  of  circumstances. 
And  then  I  watched  him  advance,  which  he  did  by 
leaps  and  bounds.  To-day  he  enjoys  an  enviable 
reputation  for  liigh-grade  salesmanship  in  that  very 
house  that  wanted  to  let  him  out  a  few  years  since. 

On  first  entering  his  territory,  his  plan  was  to 
look  the  ground  over  carefully.  He  then  com- 
menced to  build,  always  with  an  eye  to  the  future. 
The  prospect  of  immediate  sales  failed  to  dazzle  him, 
unless  they  were  of  the  sort  that  would  make  good 
timber  for  erecting  his  superstructure  as  a  whole. 

When  calling  on  the  trade  in  a  large  city,  it  was 
entirely  foreign  to  his  policy  to  jump  right  in  and  sell 
to  ever}-  dealer  that  had  a  Bradstreel  or  Dun  rating 
that  would  pass  musler  in  the  credit  department. 
Instead,  he  cautiously  laid  his  acquaintance  among 
a  limited  number  of  the  very'  best  merchants,  and 
began  by  trying  to  secure  their  confidence,  and  thus 
draw  Iheir  sympathy  largely  to  himself  and  his  house. 
lie  believed  thnl  llic  be.-l  way  to  do  fluit  was  not  by 
sellini!  them  the  largest  t)(>ssil>le  1)111  everv  time  he 
had  a  chance,  but  by  often  siihng  them  the  smallest 

bill  possible. 

[176] 


«  h 


The  Right  Kind  of  Salesman 

Frequently  on  his  return  visits,  if  conditions 
were  not  just  right,  he  would  not  attempt  a  sale  at  all, 
preferring  to  cement  his  rclaiions  by  helpful  sugges- 
tions, and  otherwise  strengthen  his  position  in  their 
confidence. 

In  starting  a  new  customer,  he  highly  favored  the 
plan  of  selling  merely  a  sample  or  "  sorting  up  "  order. 
From  the  small  vantage-point  gained,  step  by  step  he 
followed  up  his  work,  never  permitting  himself  to 
betray  a  confidence  once  reposed  in  him  by  over- 
loading a  customer. 

He  was  clear-headed,  patient,  honest,  logical, 
courteous,  always  on  his  guard,  and  extremely  tact- 
ful. Finally,  when  his  preliminary  work  was  com- 
plete, he  moved  in  and  took  possession  of  his  own. 
He  sells  the  very  best  accounts  in  his  territory^  and 
no  competitor  can  either  undermine  or  wrench  away 
from  him  the  confidence  his  customers  repose  in  him. 

To  sum  up  his  Avork  from  start  to  finish,  he 
succeeded  because  he  was  not  over-an.vious,  and 
knew  the  vulue  of  making  his  work  fit  a  set  plan. 

It  is  a  great  thing  to  be  able  to  ])lay,  not  a  dull 
game,  but  a  waiting  game  in  sal-sraanship.  The 
.salesman  gets  what  he  goes  after,  provided  ot.ly  he  is 
not  afraid  to  work  and  sweat.  But  he  must  n.  t  for- 
get that  it  is  a  good  thing  to  sweat  mentally  once  in 
a  while,  a.s  well  as  physically. 

There  are  no  dull  mnnths  for  the  intelligent 
fl77] 


i 


li 


I 


:.m.'aL 


^felijhif 


*\' 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

salesman.  Dull  months  are  for  dull  salesmen,  not 
for  live  ones.  If  you  were  a  carpenter  and  your  saw 
was  dull,  would  you  say,  "I  can't  work  this  month; 
my  saw  is  dull "  ?  No.  You  would  get  up  early  in 
the  morning  and  file  that  saw  !  >efore  breakfast.  You 
would  make  it  eat  its  way  through  an  oak  board 
like  a  ten-year-old  boy  through  a  piece  of  ])ump- 

kin  ])ie. 

The  live  salesman  does  exactly  the  same  thing. 
At  the  first  sign  of  apjjroaching  dulncss  he  sharpens 
ui>  his  business  tools  and  goes  after  business.  And 
he  gets  it,  too. 

The  salesman  who  exfKJcts  trade  to  be  dull,  and 
is  wiMing  it  should  be  dull,  will  have  it  dull. 

Likewise  the  salesman  who  expects  his  customers 
to  have  no  more  confidence  in  him  than  in  the  ordi 
nar\'  salesman  will  find  just  what  he  cxjK-cts. 

Tlie  salesman  who  Jags  back  on  the  .-trui«:lit  and 
narrow  path  of  rectitude,  and  says,  "I've  \^r>i  my 
customers  just  where  I  want  them  no\\ .  and  I'll  lake 
[)retty  good  care  that  they  get  enough  of  my  goods 
t')  keep  them  frc.m  buying  elsewhere,"  just  because 
he  has  succeeded  in  winning  their  confidence  for  the 
time  being,  will  get  just  what  he  is  looking  for,—  lost 
prestige,  by  the  shortest  possihlc  route.  You  can 
have  lost  prestige,  like  dull  months,  if  you  want  it. 
But  you  '11  be  out  of  thnc  if  you  get  either,  because 
confidence  is  the  basis  of  v\\  right  trade. 

I  178  , 


I 

\ 


The  Right  Kind  of  Sales nian 


The  Right  Kind  of  Salesman  believes  in  ihung 
liis  duty  every  clay,  and  iu  doing  each  duty  faithfully. 

President  Roosevelt  (t*lls  a  good  ston'  to  urge 
duty  and  emphasize  his  oft-repeated  declarations 
that  opportunities  are  often  overlooked. 

"I  remember  down  in  the  village  where  I  lived 
there  was  a  decent  l)ut  dreamy  young  fellow,  a  littU- 
apt  to  s])end  his  time  thinking  how  well  he  could  have 
led  his  life  under  other  conditions.  Ilis  mother  was 
a  hartl-working  woman.  One  day  he  was  reading  in 
the  j)apcr  an  account  of  a  fire  in  Xew  York  and  the 
heroic  deeds  of  a  fireman  in  rescuing  people  from  the 
burning  building.  His  mother  was  busy  around  the 
room.  Soon  he  })ut  down  the  j)a{)er  and  said,  with 
a  sigh.  'Oh,  how  I  would  like  to  rescue  somebody 
from  a  burning  building!" 

"  His  mother  answered,  '  Well,  I  '11  tell  you. 
This  building  is  not  on  fire,  but  if  you  will  get  in  the 
kindlin;r  wood,  1  Ml  be  obliwd  to  von.'  " 

There  is  a  good  moral  lesson  in  that  for  all 
^alesjneii. 

The  v\ii\  to  !)(■  M  ^<t(Kl  >al<  snian  i-;  ti»  /w  a  ijood 
ini'jJihor  tn  ijoitr  rii.stniifr.s.  then  a  tjood  itritjJihar  to 
•joi'.r  jiUoiC-.tdcsiiu  n  in  yut(r  o.rn  iKtidtlixlinicnl,  and 
to  act  toward  your  firui  so  that  yon  become  the  kind 
uf  man  they  are  glad  to  have  w-jrk  for  ihem,  or  for 
whom  tliey  a  re  glad  to  work.  The  Inisinf'^s  lift;  of 
tin-  cniployc:'  ;iiid  tliat  f)f  tin    «iiij)lo\<-c  shoidd  ^o 

fiT!.] 


1  is 


I 


.■*!' 


i- 


Men   Who  Sell  Things 

hand  in  hand,  supporting  one  another.  Make  your 
firm  feel  glad  to  have  you  in  their  business  family; 
feel  that  you  are  a  good  man  to  do  business  for 
them,  and  a  good  man  for  them  to  do  business  with. 
That 's  w  liat  the  Right  Kind  of  Salesman  does.  His 
crtH-d*  for  all  day,  and  every  day  in  the  year  except 

Sunday,  is: 

"  I  believe  in  the  goods  1  am  selling,  in  the  firm 
I  am  working  for.  and  in  imv  ability  to  get  results. 

"I  believe  that  honest  goods  car  be  sold  to 
honest  men  by  honest  methods. 

"  I  believe  in  working,  not  waiting;  in  laughing, 
not  weeping;  in  boosting,  not  knocking;  and  in  the 
pleasure  of  selling  goods. 

"1  believe  that  a  man  gets  what  he  goes  after; 
diat  one  order  to-day  is  worth  two  orders  to-morrow; 
and  that  no  man  is  down  and  out  untd  he  has  lost 
faitb  in  hiuiself. 

*l  believe  in  lo-day  and  in  th-;  work  I  atn 
doing;  in  to-.norrow  when  it  comes,  nv'l  i"  the 
work  I  hope  to  do;  and  in  the  sure  rew.  "d  \hich 
the  future  holds. 

"1  believe  in  courtesy,  in  generosity,  in  f,wi\ 
cheer,  in  kindness,  in  friendship,  and  in  honest  com- 
petition. 

'•  1  believe  there  is  an  order  .soniewhere  for  every 
man  ready  to  take  one.     I  believe  I  a:n  ready  right 

now.  *Copyr!BUt.  M.  T.  Sheahan.  Bcwtim.  Mass. 

[1801 


The  M'uui  an  a  Magnet 


CHAPTER   XIII 

THE   MIND   AS   A    MAGNET 

//('  irho  adopts  IK)  hujh  Klniidardit 
i.1  thr  oiili/  our    irlw   iirrcr  jails. 

HALF  llic  pleasure  in  making  a  Wig  success  con- 
sists in  knowin;^  just  how  it  has  been  accom- 
plished —  in  being  able  to  say.  "  I  used  this  or  that 
chance  to  go(Kl  advantage";  "I  shouhi  hao  failed 
if  I  had  not  known  just  how  and  wlien  to  api^ly  this 
faculty  or  tliat  talent,  as  the  <a  i-  required.  How 
glad  I  am  that  I  understand  myself  and  my  work, 
and  can  use  what  accomplishmenls  I  have  intelli- 
gently! ' 

But  a  good  nmny  men  lose  half  llie  pleasure 
of  their  success.  All  they  know  is  that  they  have 
worked  harci  and  done  their  best,  and,  "as  luck 
would  have  it,"  everything  has  prospered.  They 
are  satisfied  with  the  material  results,  so  that  it 
does  not  occur  to  them  to  find  out  sjx'cifically  to 
what  powers  \\>thin  themselves  these  residts  can 
be  attributed. 

If  you  were  to  ask  them  by  what  steps  they  had 
developed  into  "geniuses,  '  they  would  have  to  an- 
swer, like  Topsy,  that  they  "jest  growed."  Or  they 
perhaps  would  privately  agree  with  you,  if  you  called 
them  "bom  salesmen."     It  would  be  more  satis- 

[  181  ] 


'1 

ii 


MS^MA^s^timt^mMij^]k^am^^M 


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h> 


i 


^l 


'H. 


i  H 


Men   Who  Sell  Things 

fjing  fo  know  ju->l  wlial  qualitifs,  alleged  to  liavo 
been  born  in  a  man,  operate  in  assuring  the  success 
of  everjihing  he  undertakes. 

Any  salesman  \vho  seriously  hopes  to  improvt> 
his  work  must  somelimes  weigh  very  carefully  the 
mental  qualifieatioiis  tlii.t  tend  to  make  him  either  a 
success  or  a  failure.  IF  he  is  at  all  tlioughtfuK  he 
attaches  more  importanee  to  his  progress  than  he 
does  to  the  weighing  of  external  conditions,  such  as 
labor  troubles,  a  shortage  in  crops,  rumors  of  war, 
etc.  lie  knows  that  the  laws  that  govern  the  mind's 
action  have  a  more  direct  bearing  on  the  results  of 
his  work  as  a  salesman  than  foreign  complications 
and  the  stringency  in  trade  conditions  described  as 
''hard  times." 

Practical  psychology  is  a  mighty  motive  power 
in  business-getting,  and  is  receiving  marked  atten- 
tion on  the  part  of  thinking  men  in  various  walks  of 
business  life. 

Some  peoph-  speak  of  the  "soul  power"  which 
gives  its  possessor  some  measur»'  of  control  «)ver 
others.  We  hear  of  ministers  and  missionary  work- 
ers who  are  practically  masters  of  whole  connnu- 
nities.  Sometimes  tliey  are  opposed  and  even  per- 
secuted when  they  begin  their  work,  but  end  by 
commanding  the  docile  obedience  of  the  persons  who 
at  the  start  made  trouble.  Other  people  describe 
the  same  qualitv  as  "  psychic  force."     The  impor- 

[  18«  ] 


The  Mind  cus  a  Magnet 

tant  thing  is  not  so  mudi  the  name  given  to  sucli  an 
agency  as  the  fact  that  it  enables  a  man  to  make 
others  sec  and  accept  his  point  of  view  as  their  own. 
T'he  vital  question  is,  whether  or  not  it  can  be  used 
!)>•  salesmen  as  a  means  for  increasing  the  volume 
of  their  orders. 

Some  salesmen  have  demonstrated  that  this  can 
be  done.  They  seldom  hear  a  refusal.  Customers 
who  are  prejudiced  and  obdiiratc  forget  their  nat- 
ural combativeness  when  a  salesman  of  the  type  we 
are  describing  appears.  He  gets  their  order,  .some- 
times without  any  argument  at  all,  and  almost 
alwavs  without  any  difficultv  or  waste  of  time.  It 
seems  natural  that  all  peoj.le  should  agree  with  him, 
accept  the  ideas  he  advances,  and  do  very  nearly 
what  he  wants  them  to  do. 

Either  consciously  or  unconsciously,  he  is 
exercisinti  what  has  been  vuriouslv  described  as 
"soul  power,"  "psychic  force,"  and  "personal  mag- 
netism." 

There  is  no  (juestion  that  the  power  of  attraction 
which  gives  one  man  ascendency  over  others  can  be 
cultivated  by  any  one  who  is  sufliciently  persistent 
and  painstaking  in  the  efl'ort.  Psychologists  have 
not  given  us  any  formula  for  developing  this  quality. 
Any  one  who  is  interested,  however,  can  su^  'est 
ways  and  means  for  himself,  whic  h  will  help  toward 
the  desired  end. 

(  ^«'?  ] 


•I 
>5l 


,f*:»-V^«*, 


i'.-f 


Men  IVfiu  Sell  T/uug.t 

The  first  step  toward  accomplishment  in  this 
direction  is  a  careful  study  of  the  successful  men 
who  are  <iescribcd  as  "bom  salesmen,"  and  who  get 
their  results  by  exercising  this  mental  force.  //  inll 
be  found  that  all  men  posse.'^srd  of  personal  magnetism 
are  very  much  in  earnest.  Their  intense  earnestness 
is  i,M(jnetic.  Their  minds  arc  filled  with  one  con- 
trolling idea — success  in  whatever  undertaking  they 
have  in  hand. 

Thtir  earnestness  cannot  fail  to  have  its  effect 
on  every  ]<rospcctive  customer  wiUi  whom  they  come 
in  contact.  Besides  its  direct  effect  on  the  man  ad- 
dressed, the  fjuality  <if  earnestness  in  the  salesman 
has  also  an  immediate  eifect  upon  himself,  in  in- 
creasing his  powers  of  reasoning  and  self-expression. 
By  stiinuhxting  these  powers,  and  tiirough  their 
agency,  it  also  has  an  indirect  effect  upon  the  cus- 
tomer. 

Among  people  who  live  niucu  alone,  and  whose 
labor  exercises  their  muscles  and  not  their  brains,  a 
common  and  significant  phenomenon  is  observed. 
We  are  all  familiar  with  cases  where  an  ignorant, 
stolid  fellow,  ordinarily  incapable  of  expressing  him- 
self in  speech  very  well,  has  suddenly  found  himself 
gifted  with  eloquence  at  some  emotional  crisis  in 
his  life  —  eloquence  not  the  less  si)lendid  and  power- 
ful for  grammatical  inaccuracies. 

\Mien  this  happens,  the  mind  of  the  speaker 
[184] 


The  Mind  cm  a  Magnet 

has  swept  aside  by  the  very  force  of  earnestness  the 
hmitatioiis  which  hanij)ere(l  it  in  ordinary  inter- 
course. 'J'he  same  principK>  accounts  for  a  man's 
abihty  to  Improvise  means  of  escape  from  great  and 
sudden  danger,  whicl<  would  liave  been  entirely 
beyond  his  ingenuity  at  other  times. 

The  second  ste})  toward  gaining  the  end  in  view 
is  for  the  salesman  to  put  himself  as  far  as  possible  in 
entire  harmony  with  all  the  conditions  under  which 
he  works.  To  do  this,  his  relations  with  his  house 
should  be  candid  and  agreeable;  there  should  be  no 
rankling  remembrances  of  differences  which  he  may 
have  had  with  the  manager  or  olhers  in  the  house. 
lie  shouhl  have  absolute  faith  in  the  j/roduct  he  is 
.selling;  he  shouhl  feel  in  entire  sympathy  with  every 
prospective  customer  witi.  whom  he  talks. 

This  last  is  a  most  important  matter.  Some 
salesmen  seem  to  think  that  it  is  sufficient  if  they 
preserve  the  outward  forms  of  courtesy  and  pa- 
tience and  consideration  in  dealing  with  a  trying 
customer. 

Perhaps  the  customer's  objections  are  ridicu- 
lous because  of  his  ignorance,  and  ])rejudiced  because 
of  his  narrow-mindedness.  It  is  necessary  to  get 
down  to  first  principles  and  improve  upon  his  edu- 
cation before  he  cm  fonii  any  conception  of  the 
value  of  what  is  oikred  him.  The  salesman  who  is 
not  genuinely  in  earnest  \vill  hate  this  slow  and 

[185  J 


.'i 


T  I 


feS^;, 


"^jgi-^ 


:.4^^.    ^^^  JJ^fM\F^' .- 


Men    Who  Sell  Things 

tedious  process.  He  will  talk  in  the  kindliest  possible 
manner  to  his  customer,  of  course,  but  mentally  he 
will  be  calling  the  man  a  fool,  and  wondering  how 
such  an  antiquated  specimen  managed  to  survive 
tl'.e  flood.  The  customer,  of  course,  hears  what  the 
salesuian  savs,  and  does  not  know  what  tlic  sales- 
man is  thinking.  Still,  he  is  very  hkely  to  be  affected 
bv  the  negative  thoughts  In  the  salesman's  mind. 
If  he  gives  his  order  at  all,  it  is  because  he  has  either 
'been  Leatcn  in  argument  or  made  to  feel  ashamed 
of  his  own  conservatism.  It  is  certain  that  he  has 
not  been  influenced  by  the  power  of  attraction. 

The  salesman  who  was  really  in  earnest  would 
undertake  the  same  task  without  any  mental  reser- 
vation. This  at  least  would  leave  his  mind  free  to 
devise  ways  and  means  by  which  his  prospects  might 
be  enlightened.  He  would  have  ;<  quicker  insight 
into  the  circumstances  ihat  govern  the  case.  A 
mutual  vnderstanding  and  appreciation  would  be 
established,  such  as  exist  when  two  persons  are  said 
to  be  en  rapjwrf  —  a  very  necessary  con(i.tion  be- 
fore  one   mind    can    exercise  any    attraction   over 

another. 

No  one  should  confuse  the  mental  action  de- 
scribed here  with  hypnotism.  It  is  not  recom- 
mended to  make  an  attack  on  the  will  power  of  a 
customer,  for  that  is  neither  fair  play  nor  practical 
business.        One  can,  however,  develop  a  power  to 

[186] 


The  Mind  as  a  Magnet 

arouae  I  he  interest  and  good  will  of  others,  so  that 
they  will  sometimes  do  voluntarily  what  a  hj-pnotist 
sceLs  to  make  Ihera  do  involuntarily.  Such  power, 
when  acquired,  assures  souie  measure  of  <;u  jress  at 
least. 


I 


1  187] 


111 

if 


<iJi 


iMMHlMiiiiiiiiiihiM^ 


Men   fV/tu  Sell  Things 


CHAPTER    XIV 

SPECIALIZINCI  EFF( )UTS 

7s  ipiir  mind  on  the  real  (janir  of  saJe.^- 
viaiinhip,  or  on  a  (l^zcn  outxidc  ovm? 

THIS  is  the  ajije  of  the  specialist.  In  the  world  of 
materia  mcdica  the  general  practitioner  is  all 
right  in  his  place;  but  when  you  are  suffering  with 
some  specific  ailment  that  re(juires  a  careful  diagno- 
sis and  more  careful  treatment,  if  you  value  your 
life,  a  specialist  is  called  in  for  consultation. 

If  you  were  obliged  to  engage  the  services  of  a 
lawyer  on  a  difficult  case,  you  would  employ  a  law- 
ver  who  had  a  reputation  for  being  particularly 
skilful  in  the  very  line  in  which  your  case  is  classed. 
The  merchant  does  not  long  patroni/e  a  salesman 
whose  energy  is  wavering  and  whose  mind  is  set  on 
anything  and  everything  but  the  thing  he  has  to  sell. 
Singleness  of  purpose  is  one  of  the  predominating 
features  of  successfu'  salesmanship,  just  as  it  is  in 
any  other  profession. 

Some  years  ago  a  city  clergyman  of  inquiring 
mind  sent  a  number  of  postd-card  inquiries  to  non- 
church-going  men  in  the  neighborhood  in  which  his 
church  was  situated,  asking  why  so  few  business 
men  attended  church.  He  re^eixed  many  interest- 
ing replies,  but  the  one  that  opened  his  eyes  and  set 

[188] 


Specia/izins;  EJfurts 

nim  to  thinking  hard  was  from  a  truvelHng  man.     It 
ran  something  like  this: 

"The  doctor  practises  medicine;  the  lawyer 
practises  law;  a  politician  talks  politics,  and  the 
business  man  talks  his  business;  but  the  average 
modern  cl^rg_  Mian  of  the  so-called  nc"  chooi  talks 
everything  and  preaches  everything  but  he  (iospel. 
the  thing  he  was  ordained  to  preach.  Business  men, 
or  any  other  class  of  men,  except,  perha[)s.  Beau 
Brummells,  do  not  care  to  go  to  church  and  listen 
to  talks  about  the  boys'  brigade,  the  girls'  cooking 
school,  the  ladies'  sewing  society,  a  treatise  on  the 
latest  novel,  nor  side  talks  on  current  events  of  the 
day." 

The  salesman  who  wanders  about  in  his  profes- 
sion, like  the  Mississippi  River  seeking  a  straight 
course  but  not  finding  it,  is  not  unlike  the  minister 
portrayed  by  our  friend  the  travelling  man. 

If  you  arc  selling  shoes,  talk  shoes ;  dry  goods, 
talk  dry  goods;  clothing,  talk  clothing.  Keep  your 
mind  on  the  one  important  thing. 

Your  customers  do  not  care  to  discuss  with  you 
the  candidacy  of  the  next  President  of  the  United 
States;  whether  your  baby  has  a  new  tooth  or  a 
dozen,  your  wife's  disposition,  nor  the  disposition  of 
your  neighbors.  Neither  are  ley  interested  in  your 
competitors  from  your  point  of  view.  Their  whole 
mind  is  centred,  so  far  as  you  are  concerned,  on 

[189] 


] 


1  \ 


r'    M 


Men   Who  Sell  Things 

what  you  can  do  for  tbem  with  your  goixls,  not  the 

Dther  fellow's. 

Concentration  —  putting  your  real  thou^'ht  in 

your  real  work;  that  is  it. 

You  <lon't  need  to  waste  time  reading,'  this  chap- 
ter if  you  are  morally  certain  that  the  best  that  is  in 
you  is  being  used  every  hour,  and  used  to  give  y<»ur 
customers,  your  house,  and  yourself  tl  besi  chance 
possible,— maximum  results  with  minimuin  waste; 
and  that  applies  to  everything  pertaining  to  your 
work  — energy,  time,  expense,  territory,  and  all. 

Among  the  thousands  of  salesmen  there  may  bt 
a  few  that  play  the  game  of  salesmanship  as  a  good 
checker-player  plays  the  game  of  checkers.  The 
few  in  the  thousands  do  not  need  'j  think  about 
the  importance  of  concentration,  but  a  very  great 
majority  of  salesmen  do  need  to  realize  what  oneness 
of  purpose  might  mean  to  them. 

Every  salesman  wants  something  that  he  has 
not  got.  "  His  wish-bone  may  be  where  his  back- 
bone ought  to  be,"  but  he  wishes  just  as  if  Nature 
had  made  him  right. 

There  is  not  a  single  salesman  that  is  not  plan- 
ning in  a  more  or  less  aimless  way  to  do  something, 
to  get  soracwhere  in  life's  journey,  to  be  something 
worthy  of  the  -ccognition  of  his  superiors ;  and  there 
is  really  not  one  that  could  not  have  lus  heart's 
desire,  or  ut  loast  succeed  in  a  fair  mtuoure,  if  he 

[  I'JOj 


Specializing  J'^fforUi 

would  wear  that  wish-bone  iu  the  place  for  wliii-h  it 
was  originally  intended.  Keeping  his  mind  on  the 
essential  things  in  salesmanship,  and  off  other  things, 
will  helj)  wonderfully  his  desire  to  get.  do,  and  l)e 
something  more  than  a  wayfarer  «)n  the  highway  of 
success. 

Have  you  ever  seen  two  salesmt  n  with  relatively 
efjual  chances  —  a  good  salesman  and  a  bad  sales- 
man .' 

The  bad  salesnum  makes  excuses  for  hitrself  at 
the  end  of  every  trip,  all  through  the  year,  and  at 
the  end  takes  a  cut  in  his  salary  or  looks  for  another 
position.  The  (jood  mhsmun  plans  his  years  work 
from  the  begin nin<j.  Carefully  he  studies  his  terri- 
tory, making  his  vork  fit  his  set  plan;  watches  every 
move  of  his  competitors;  takes  every  vantage-point 
smilinijlv,  easily,  but  fairlv,  and  wins  in  the  end 
becau  e  his  mind  has  been  on  his  business. 

One  of  the  most  important  things  to  the  average 
salesman  in  specializing  his  effort-,  is  to  confine  his 
work  to  as  limited  a  tonitory  as  possible,  insuring 
profitable  returns  for  energy  expended.  Seven  out 
of  ten  salesmen  travelling  with  trunks  and  represent- 
ing wholesale  concerns,  cover  from  33}  to  50  per  cent 
more  territory  than  is  necessary  to  produce  the  best 
results  to  be  obtained.  Few,  apparently,  recognize 
the  fact  that  concenfrafion  nj  energy  on  a  limited 
number  of  aceonnts  produces  in  the  end  much   more 

[101] 


I 


:!i 


■■ie_ 

in 


It- 


fll 


1. 


I 


I 


Men  Who  .Sell  Thirifrs 

saii!<j actor ij  huMiuss  ftinn  (he  samr  rr.sults  reaped 
from  a  broader  field.  A  lilll<*  soil  well  tilK-d  is  in- 
finitely bettt-r  than  a  lar<,'o  acroufje  half  raki.l  over. 
Your  tcrrilorv  is  an  asstt  of  your  housr  just  as 
much  as  its  surplus  capital,  stock,  or  book  accounts. 
The  worth  t)f  y<»ur  territory  as  jmi  asset  is  j,'auj,'C(l 
entirely  by  the  latincr  in  \vhi<h  it  is  j;one  over.  This 
docs  not  apply  to  all  lines  in  the  ni  niufacturin^' 
world,  but  it  is  invariably  the  case  with  jobbing 
houses  or  wliolesalers  in  any  line. 

The  too  infreijuent  calling  upon  customers 
leaves  a  lo<.phole  for  your  trade  tc  es<'ape  and  scat- 
ter its  accounts  aniong  a  large  number  of  houses; 
(Mil  this  escape  could  not  be  possible  if  you  would 
visit  your  customers  oftener.  I'.very  time  you  give 
vour  competitors  a  chance  to  wean  away  your  cus- 
tomers' a<counls  and  likewise  their  confidence,  you 
render  your  tratle  of  an  uncertain  quantity  as  well 

as  cjuality. 

"But,"  argues  the  salesman  who  has  not  trie<l 
this  plan,  '*  how  can  1  keep  my  roarl  work  up  and 
show  good  sales  every  day.  if  1  visit  my  trade  oftener 
than  their  demand  for  goods  reijuircs.-" 

The  answer  is :  The  nature  of  your  accounts  an«l 
the  results  at  tli«>  cud  of  the  >  ear,  not  at  ac  end  of  the 
day.  is  the  determining  factor  in  your  ultimate  suc- 
cess. 

By  keeping  in  the  closest  possible  touch  with 


.lUi 


Specializing  FfforUt 

your  trade  you  aiv  evcntuall"  <nable<l  td  estaHish  a 
custom  that  you  can  call  your  own,  and  your  work  is 
accomplished  with  llic  minimum  amount  of  cfForf  and 
expense.  But  that  is  not  nil.  Confidince  in  l)U>i- 
ness  is  the  f,'uiding-star  of  all  satisfactory  opcmtion. 
It  is  secured  mainly  by  a  close  relationship  lulween 
buyer  and  sel'    •. 

Did  it  ever  o.(  up  to  yo>  -w  lliorou>.'hly  you  can 
aid  in  promoting  th.  interc  ..  of  your  customers,  as 
well  as  your  own,  w  ■  n  ;  ou  have  on( «•  obtained  tluir 
confidenc  ->  tlic  fi.  !  t  degree,  and  that  the  best 
jTOSsiblc  t;....p'  under  any  ( ircumstances  for  them  is 
to  keep  their  purchasing  eggs  as  much  in  one  basket 
as  possible,  provided  the  basket  is  the  right  one  ? 

Many  a  small  town  dealer  has  allowed  his  ship 
of  commerce  to  ground  on  the  shoals  of  bank- 
ruptcy, solely  because  he  purchased  from  too  many 
houses  and  could  not  watch  his  payments,  besides 
getting  more  goods  on  hand  than  his  limitiil  output 
demanded.  All  t1  .s  the  clever  salesman  with  single- 
ness of  purpose  can  avert. 

1  have  witnessed  the  plan  of  travelling  men  on 
limited  territories  carried  out  to  an  eminently  suc- 
cessful conclu?'  .n  in  many  cases  where  it  was  tried. 
A  few  years  ago  my  house  had  but  one  man  cover- 
ing the  State  adjoining  the  one  on  the  east  of  that 
in  which  we  were  .situated  —  territory  that  was 
generally  conceded  vo  be  in  "the  enemy's  country." 

[  U«  1 


t 


t?i*^'^ 


■Mi 


« 


Men  Wko  Sell  Things 

Right  here  I  want  to  emphasize  that  that  "enemy's 
country- "  cry  is  pretty  much  a  time-worn,  punctured 
theor}'  in  the  minds  of  the  energetic  salesman  and  the 
progressive  and  aggressive  house.  These  assume  — 
and  correctly  so  —  that  the  logical  market  for  any 
territory,  irrespective  of  distance  or  position,  is  the 
one  that  can  offer  the  best  inducements  to  draw  the 
patronage  of  that  territorj-. 

Well,  Mr.  Salesman  of  the  "enemy's  country" 
argued  that  there  was  not  enough  business  for  a 
second  salesman  in  his  State.  He  protested  against 
the  intrusion  with  a  fervor  that  would  easily  have 
made  him  top  man  on  the  annual  sales  sheet  had  this 
new-found  energy  been  directed  on  sales-making  on 
his  own  account  in  place  of  arguing  against  it  on  the 
other  fellow's.  He  stoutly  maintained  that  if  a 
division  of  his  territory  occurred  he  could  not  con- 
duct a  profitable  business  on  the  section  allotted 
him;  that  the  experiment  was  bound  to  be  a  failure; 
that  the  house  would  regret  it,  and  in  the  end  he 
would  be  obliged  to  take  back  that  portion  of  his 
territory  eriven  to  a  new  man,  and  have  the  up-hill 
work  of  regaining  the  lost  prestige  that  was  certain 
to  result  from  the  change. 

We  were  determined  to  try  the  experiment,  how- 
ever, and  the  following  year  the  State  was  split  in 
halves,  the  eastern  section  going  to  a  new  man  and 
the  western  to  our  old  traveller. 

[194] 


mmmmamm 


Specializing  Efforts 

Five  years  later  tht-  new  man's  sales  amounted 
to  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  a  year,  against 
eighty  thousand  of  our  former  salesman,  and  yet 
the  latter  showed  an  increase  over  his  previous  work 
and  was  gaining  every  year. 

Later,  precisely  the  same  thing  was  repeated  in 
two  or  three  other  States,  with  the  same  results. 

In  a  still  more  notable  instance  wo  had  a  man 
travelling  on  a  territory  situated  far  distant  from  the 
house.  His  annual  sales  amounted  to  about  one 
hundred  and  forty  thousand  dollars,  for  the  greater 
part  of  which  he  received  credit  on  house  sales. 

The  sales  manager  endeavored  to  point  out  to 
him  the  superior  advantages  of  his  territory,  and  the 
results  to  be  obtained  by  making  two  trips  cadi  sea- 
son in  place  of  one,  as  was  his  custom.  Being  of  that 
"divine  rights"  Hass  of  men,  he  was  a  trifle  touchy 
on  the  subject  of  any  interference  from  the  house  as 
to  the  regular  routine  of  his  work  as  he  thought  it 
should  be  conducted.  The  matter  Avas  urged  upon 
him  until  it  got  on  his  tierves,  and  he  became  exceed- 
ingly uncomfortable,  so  much  so  that  one  day  he 
rushed  into  the  office  of  the  president  and  flaunted  his 
resignation  before  him  in  a  tragic  manner,  loudly  pro- 
testing against  interference  with  his  personal  rights. 
Little  did  he  realize  that  the  man  who  always  thinks 
of  his  rights  is  the  first  to  forget  that  they  involve 
an  equal  number  of  responsibilities. 

[  19-^  ] 


'm 


fl 


Hi 


y**,'*'" 


2: 


I 


itfe/i  fTAo  5fe//  Thirigs 

The  reverse  of  what  he  expected  from  his  melo- 
dramatic   effort    happened.    His    resignation    was 
accepted  promptly,  and  just  as  promptly  there  com- 
menced a  rehabilitation  of  his  former  territory.     It 
was  divided  into  three  sections  and  given  to  three 
young  men  in  the  house  anxious  to  get  on  the  road, 
and  who  were  charged  to  the  brim  xNnth  enthusiasm 
and  with  ideas  instilled  into  them  from  headquarters. 
At  the  end  of  the  first  year  their  sales  in  the  aggregate 
amounted  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars. 
Three  distinct  territories  had  been  established,  each 
covered   by  a  man  with  fine,   gro-.ving   prospects, 
and  each  man  working  like  a  Trojan  in  a  spirit 
of   friendly   rivalry,  the   ou    omc  of   which   could 
only  mean  a  largely  increase  d  business  for  all  con- 
cerned. 

It  is  a  great  thing  for  a  salesman  to  realize  that 
honest,  intelligent  effort  will  bring  its  reward  much 
more  effectually  and  satisfactorily  o:-.  a  territory  thai 
does  not  encumber  him  with  dead  weight  on  ac- 
count of  its  size.  Clear  your  ship  for  motion,  and 
see  to  it  that  the  baniades  of  shortsightedness  are 
cleaned  from  its  bouom. 

At  the  very  i)eriod  in  wliich  this  chapter  was 
und-r  consideration  it  was  my  privilege  to  form  the 
acquaintance  of  a  gentleman  whom  I  engaged  on  a 
commission  to  assist  the  conmiittee  of  which  I  had 
the  honor  to  be  chairman,  in  the  great  public-spirited 

r  196  ] 


^^^^■:m^M>^'i^J'MM.:^j 


Specializing  Efforts 

movement  looking  to  the  commertial  and  physical 
advancement  of  a  Greater  Chicago. 

In  the  special  work  upon  which  wa  were  en- 
gaged the  ser^^ces  of  ray  new-found  acquaintance 
proved  to  be  invaluable,  notwithstanding  we  were 
paying  hitn  a  commission  that  netted  him  on  an 
average  more  than  four  hundred  dollars  per  month. 
From  boyhood  his  business  career  had  been  decid- 
edly checkered,  embracing  the  promotion  of  all 
manner  of  enterprises,  from  political  campaigns, 
mining  stocks,  and  expositions,  to  the  management 
of  theatrical  companies,  and  even  appearances  be- 
fore the  footlights  himself  as  an  understudy  wlien 
occasion  demanded. 

As  a  man  he  was  prepossessing  in  appearance, 
of  pleasing  personality,  honest,  and  clean-cut.  As 
a  salesman  he  possessed  marked  ability  and  adapta- 
bility. He  had  the  best  approach  and  the  finest 
tact,  put  up  tlie  best  argument,  and  closed  a  deal  at 
the  psychological  moment,  in  the  neatest  manner  I 
have  ever  witnessed. 

In  relating  to  me  his  experiences  one  day  he  said : 
"  I  began  life  without  any  chance  for  an  education. 
There  was  no  one  to  tell  me  how  to  begin  or  what  to 
do  to  make  the  most  of  myself.  I  know  that  I  am 
fitted  for  something  better  than  the  w  ork  I  am  doing. 
I  know  that  I  have  real  ability  in  my  way,  but  no  one 
has  ever  told  me  how  to  use  it  to  the  best  permanent 

[197] 


li 


s 


I 


ffoWBr im  'T*f 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

advantage.  1  'm  tired  of  this  changing  froin  one 
thing  to  another,  even  though  I  manage  to  deri/e  an 
income  better  than  tlie  average  of  men  engaged  in  the 
work  of  selling  things." 

He  wound  up  by  adding:  "Could  n't  your  firm 
give  me  permanent  employment  on  the  road?  I 
know  I  could  sell  your  goods  successfully.  I  have 
never  seen  anything  that  I  could  n't  sell.  If  you 
could  make  room  for  me  I  would  commence  at  three 
thousand  a  year  and  take  my  chances  on  advance- 
ment with  something  permanent  in  view." 

Tluxt  is  the  star]!  of  a  man  who  made  one  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars,  viade  it  honestly,  and  lost  it 
because  oj  the  lack  of  such  discipline  as  would  have 
taught  him  to  focus  his  mind  on  some  set  plan  in  his 

life's  work. 

It  is  the  story  of  a  man  eminently  talented,  and 
who  might  have  managed  a  prosperous  enterprise 
of  his  own,  or  at  least  earned  a  big  salary  in  an 
executive  position  or  at  the  head  of  a  large  sales 
organization  but  for  the  fact  that  he  lacked  single- 
ness of  purpose,  oneness  in  business  aspirations, 
concentration,  or  whatever  you  choose  to  call  it 
that  enables  a  man  to  stick  to  a  thing  until  he 

gets  there. 

There  is  another  feature  in  specializing  eff  i-ts 
in  sales-mak"ng  that  enables  thv.  salesman  to  make 
a  ten-strike,  and  that  is  in  guiding  his  customers  in 

i  ICS  ] 


«  ;.r.^;KiZ.*ii^ 


k.3r 


SpeciaLJrig  EJforts 

the  matter  of  selection.  In  order  to  dc  that  suc- 
cessfully, a  oireful  study  must  be  made  of  gcLeral 
conditions  surrounding  the  line  which  he  is  selling, 
as  well  as  the  re(iiurements  of  those  to  whom  he 
wishes  to  sell. 

For  instance,  f^f.rae  salesmen  selling  line  goods 
seem  to  feel  that  if  general  conditions  are  not  up 
to  par,   there  is   no  chance    for  immediate   sales. 
Nothing  is  so  far  from  the  facts.     This  is  particu- 
larly demonstrated  on  advance  trips  where  no  floods 
are  in  immediate  demand,  and  where  desire  must 
be  created  out  of  whole  cloth,    I  have  known  bright 
salesmen  to  start  out  with  a  general  line  represent- 
ing their  business,  only  to  find  a  decided  apathy  ^n 
the  part   of   buyers   toward  their  proposition 
whole  at  that  particular  time.     Did  they  lie  dov  ii 
in  despair  and  write  the  house  that  business  was 
dull,  it  was  too  early,  some  one  else  had  been  out 
before  them,  and  a  host  of  other  lame  excuses  ? 

No!  They  sharpened  their  wits,  und  likewise 
their  selling-talk,  took  a  caref  :1  survey  cf  things,  and 
then  selected  a  particularly  good  value  or  two  in  some 
specific  pattern  cr  style  from  ..eir  general  line;  then 
they  pinned  their  selling-talk  down  to  that  until  they 
aroused  interest,  created  desire,  and  captured  resolve, 
and  at  t'ae  end  of  the  trip  they  were  more  than  satis- 
fied with  results  in  the  aggregate. 

In  our  line  I  have  known  it  to  be  so  dull  during 
[  i;'9  1 


.A,. 


t 


wr?v^ 


i^:.imxji^'^iiMss^.Mm^. 


Mm  Wlio  Sell  Things 

a  "fiUing-in"  season  that  there  vas  absolutely  no 
desire  on  the  part  of  the  trade  for  anything  in  par- 
ticular, when  some  bright  salesman  in  the  line-up 
would  single  out  some  one  thing  that  had  not  been 
especially  strong,  from  among  the  hundreds  in  the 
various  departments,  and  specialize  his  efforts  on 
that  article  in  every  town  on  the  trip,  and  thus  roll 
up  figures  on  the  monthly  sales  sheet  that  were  even 
larger  than   might  have  been   the  case   in  taking 
orders  more  widely  distributed  under  more  prom- 
ising   circi  mstances.      The    customers,    too,    were 
satisfied,  because  a  new  idea  had  been  advanced, 
and  they  had  something  new  to  talk  about  to  their 

trade. 

After  all,  the  average  dealer  in  the  rank-and-file 
town  takes  his  selling-talk  pretty  much  from  his 
favorite  salesman.     Did  yoii  ever  think  of  that  ? 

Salcsmansliip  is  a  profession,  but  it  is  also  a 
game.  Ever>-  salesman  must  play  it  either  pooriy  or 
well,  and    always  with  the    same  opponent  in  the 

game  —  Time. 

Your  opponent  waits  for  nothing  —  relentlessly 
he  watches  the  game  progress.  He  clutches  his 
scj^he,  ready  to  cut  you  down.  All  around  you  and 
your  adversary  Time,  there  is  Success.  If  your  mind 
is  distracted  from  your  work.  Time  gains  a  vantage- 
point. 

Thousands  of  salesmen  are  saj-ing  ever>'  day, 

[200] 


r  * 

1 


i^mmm 


.m^mm. 


u 


Specializing  Efforts 

■'If  I  had  my  life  to  live  ovrr  again  1  would  do  thus 
and  so." 

The  most  ])rofilless  occupation  in  the  world  is 
to  sit  idly  thinking  of  what  vou  would  do  if  yoti 
had  mother  chance.  Forget  \hat  is  behind.  Press 
fon^'ard  to  ihe  future,  which  is  every  man's,  to  do 
>vith  as  he  will ! 

The  game  will  last  as  long  .is  you  do.  Thinking 
of  the  foolish  plays  you  have  made  will  not  help  you 
to  win,  unless  the  experience  has  taught  you  how  to 
avoid  them  and  to  concentrate  your  mind  on  l)etter 
ones,  brushing  aside  all  obstacles.  Young  sp.lesmen 
especially  need  to  think  much  about  singleness  of 
purpose,  for  their  temptations  are  on  ever)-  hand. 

Many  yourg  salesmen,  and  old  ones,  tor,  for 
that  matter,  act  like  men  lost  in  the  woods,  trying 
to  get  o'jt  ilhout  the  aid  of  a  compass.  They 
turn  to  the  right  and  to  the  left,  then  go  round  in  a 
circle,  stumbling  over  logs  and  entangled  under- 
brush, finally  giving  up  in  despair.  The  road  be- 
fore ever}'  salesman  is  perfectly  clear:  Avalk  straight 
ahead  to  the  end  of  it,  and  you  vill  come  out  into 
the  clearing. 

Suppo.se  you  were  to  engage  a  man  to  bore  a 
well  for  you.  ^Miat  would  you  think  of  him  if  he 
bored  a  few  inches  here  and  a  few  inches  there,  and 
kept  on  boring  down  just  a  little  way  all  over  a  ten- 
acre  field,  never  going  deep  enough  to  strike  wa*er.' 

[201] 


J'.  • 


n 

t 


(l^^fT^^. 


'-^-'-Ci ,  1  ■  *»r*.'-    .J*  ^. 


iVe«   fT/w)  Sell  Thitigs 

You  would  think  be  ought  to  have  a  guardian  ap- 
pointed over  him.  Well,  that  is  exactly  what  a 
great  many  salesmen  are  doing.  Ju-t  boring  down 
through    the    subsoil,  never  sinking  bed-rock  and 

through  and  beneath  it  the  sparkling  water  Success^ 
Tr>'  one  way,  but  be  sure  it 's  a  good  way,  and 

keep  at  it.  Brother  Salesman,  until  you  strike  the 

bed-rock  of  efficient  salesmanshii). 

Don't  let  your  grim  old  opponent,  Fathe  Time, 

get  there  ahead  of  you  and  block  up  the  way  with 

liis  impenetrable  chain  of  lost  opportunities. 


\sm\ 


:<^^.^^ 


Lettertt  to  the  Trade 


CHAPTER  XV 

LEITERS  TO  THE  TRADE 

The  next  bent  thing  to  interviewing  a  good  cuit- 
tnmeris  to  irrite  him  a  pcr.mnal  letter  occasional  1 1). 

YOU  cannot  personally  shake  hands  and  jolly  up 
your  customers  every  few  days;  so  the  next 
best  thing  is  to  write  them  personal  letters,  just  as 
you  would  talk  to  them  if  you  were  to  meet  them  on 
the  street  or  in  their  places  of  business.  Now,  isn't 
that  so  ? 

Such  letters  bring  new  business  and  hold  old 
customers. 

Naturally,  the  more  r  mal  talks  you  can  have 
icith  yonr  cu.stomcr.f,  the  Iter;  but  in  between 
trips  write  them  a  heart-to-heart  letter  now  and  then, 
just  to  make  them  feel  that  you  are  keeping  them 
in  mind.  It  will  show  that  you  have  a  str ng  per- 
sonal interest  in  them,  and  the  results,  if  watched, 
will  both  please  and  surprise  you.  Make  your  let- 
ters talk  to  your  customers.  Make  them  believe 
in  your  letters  just  as  you  want  them  to  Ijelieve 
in  you. 

Galileo  taught  that  the  earth  moves  around 
the  sun,  but  was  compelled  by  the  Inquisition  to 
renounce  the  theory.  Perhaps  you  feel  a  little  that 
way  about  what  your  customers  might  think  of  your 

I  «(K{  1 


f 


Kr 


'T'^MZf  M^.rM^_ 


Tii 


Mm   Who  Sell  Things 
IcUer,.  thai  is  l-ause  you  have  nol  di^covcrci  th. 

™u  do  no.  understana  and  rigV/.y  .,.,% «  -  -enoc 
■  mat  would  you  think  ,t  a  kid-glovod  s.csn,.,, 
„ho  approached  bi»  customer,  in  the  manner  that  he 
,„u.d%proach  hi,  hostes,  at  an  aft.  moon  .-•cp- 
r," ?  Well,  that  i,  prcci^-ly  the  «ay  n,  whuU  more 
Tn  two-lhird,  of  the  bu-nes,  letter-wntrng  .s  done. 
Such  letters  often  begin  with  — 

'•  I  beg  to  acknowleage  yours  of 

"Replying  to  your  esteemed  favor  of  even  date. 

nennit  me  to  say 

^     «^Your  letter  of in  at  hand  and  contents 

carefully  noted." 

\ad  they  often  end  with  — 

"  I   beg   to   remain 

"I  am  yours " 

These  shop-worn  types  of  the  customary  style 
should  have  been  relegated  to  the  waste-baske  a 
decade  ago.  Begin  your  letters  in  an  easy,  natura  , 
conversational  way.  Have  something  to  write  about , 
and  think  hard  about  the  best  way  to  write  it  to 
attract  the  sympathy  of  your  customer  to  vour 

'"^ttiginal  in  your  style.      Don't  write  as  a 

[204] 


f^:s^m::i''^^y^ 


Letters  to  the  Trade 

dozen  oilier  salesmen  that  cover  your  territory  are 
in  the  habit  of  doing,  in  a  j)ointk's.s,  stereotyped 
fashion.  Think  about  your  custonn  r;  think  abo 
what  you  are  S"hij?  to  write,  and  then  write  it  in  u 
manner  that  vou  feel  certain  will  please  and  interest 
him. 

If  you  arc  in  the  habit  of  scratching  off  any  ol<l 
thing  the  quickest  niul  easiest  way,  stop  to  figure 
out  the  effect  such  letters  are  going  to  have,  if  any. 
Try  to  realize  the  great  value  that  it  is  possible  to 
secure  with  a  little  care  and  .study  in  presenting  your 
subject. 

Some  salesmen  go  on  the  plan  that  letter-writing 
is  of  no  avail  in  helping  to  increase  their  -sales  any- 
way, and  as  it  is  laborious,  they  let  it  alone.  Igno- 
rance or  mental  laziness  is  the  inundation  of  such 
ideas,  aided,  perhaps,  by  a  desire  to  enjoy  a  game  of 
billiards,  or  an  idle  chat  with  the  clerk  when  the  last 
customer  has  been  called  upon  and  packing  is  fin- 
ished. Recreation  i  necessary  and  proper,  but  the 
salesman  in  an  vho  hopes  to  get  on  in  the 

world  will  play  ^    y  when  the  last  tap  of  work  is 
finished  at  the  close  of  each  day. 

A  decade  ago  commercial  let  ■  '  writing  was 
deprecated  by  most  business  houses  as  a  medium  to 
attract  and  hold  trade.  Its  use  was  mainly  to  cover 
immediate  necessity  that  could  not  be  adjusted  by 
j)ersonal  ^nter^^ew.     All  that  has  changed  with  the 

[i05] 


i 

i 

M 

i  \ 


\n 


% 


fi 


f 


"^w?^ 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 


h 


changing  times,  and  to-day  every  bu«ih  jms  mst.tulioP 
of  .iny  note  has  a  correspondence  dopar:  v-nt  in 
charge  of  a  highsahiried  head,  who  is  CMpecally 
versed  in  the  art  of  writing  the  kind  of  letters  calcu- 
]  t.Hi  to  aid  i.i  strengthening  its  connection  with  its 
customers,  and  t.,  assist  its  sales  force  in  budding 
new  business. 

It  is  an  mce^:m rij  to  hold  aa  to  bu ihl.  1  he  su  1  -s- 
man  who  fails  to  get  in  touch  with  the  head  of  tlie 
correspondence  of  his  house  and  seek  his  aid  at 
times  is  a  poor  prop  for  any  house  to  h  -i  upon. 

The  most  efficient  sak«smaii  values  ne  backing 
the  house  can  give  him  through  this  department, 
realizing  that  his  position  with  his  trade  is  mainly 
one  of  aggression,  and  at  times  is  apt  to  be  mis- 
construed, no  matter  how  securely  he  may  l>e  in- 
trenched in  the  confidence  of  his  customers. 

\  general  promotion  letter  now  and  then  to 
his  trade,  bearing  the  authority  of  his  house,  stamps 
the  salesman's  efforts,  methods,  and  assertions  with 
added  i)ower  of  persuasion. 

-While  a  sincere  letter  of  appreciation  of  favors 
received,  eliminating  entirely  any  flavor  of  bid  for 
business,  at  the  end  of  each  season,  promotes  a 
feeling  of  good  will  conducive  to  the  interests  of  all 
,.oncemed,  and  effectually  paves  the  way  for  stronger 
and  better  trade  relations. 

Although  salesmen  of  more  than  onhnary  suc- 
[  206  1 


■j^^'^^.jm;.' 


Letters  to  the  Trade 

cess  are  to  be  found  in  many  houses,  who  put  thfir 
hands  up  in  n  know-it-all,  .solf-.satisficd  sort  of  way, 
deprecating  support  of  thi^  kind  as  unnecessary,  if 
not  actually  intcrfci'ng  wiMi  what  they  term  "their 
interests,"  yet  he  is  a  wise  salesnuin  who  encour- 
ages it  and  seeks  every  opportunity  to  make  free 
use  of  it. 

The  best  niaiiagcil  house  the  world  makes 
mistakes  at  times,  jind  m'.stakes  make  disgruntled 
customers.  Something  gfH'<  wrong  in  the  billing 
department;  a  piece  of  goods  fails  to  come  up  to 
par;  a  certain  pattern,  through  the  fault  of  no 
one,  does  not  tuni  out  exactly  as  represented;  a  cus- 
tomer in  the  house  is  not  given  the  attention  he 
thinks  he  should  receive;  in  fact,  a  dozen  things 
of  .similar  nature  are  liable  to  occur  in  the  best  regu- 
lated establishments,  which  tend  to  disquiet  this  or 
that  customer  for  the  time  being.  Do  what  you 
can  to  straighten  out  the  kinks,  and  make  sure  that 
there  remains  no  cause  of  complaint  in  which  your 
customer  may  find  a  reasonable  pretext  for  giving 
business  to  a  competitor  that  otheiwise  might  have 
gone  to  you.  Tell  the  correspondence  nuui  about 
it;     that 's  Avhat  he  is  there  for. 

It 's  your  business  to  sell  goods,  and  you  are 
supposed  to  know  your  business,  ^'ou  "d  gel  mad  it" 
some  one  t(»ld  you  vou  didn't  know  it, wouldn't  vou  i' 
Well,  then,  leave  the  matter  of  "  fixing"  the  custom- 

[  207] 


m 


ni 


k 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

ers  in  the  hands  of  the  man  whose  business  it  is  to 
look  after  that  part  of  the  work.  Put  the  same 
degree  of  confidence  in  him  that  you  demand  and 
expect  to  receive  yourself,  and  see  how  quickly  and 
nicelv  all  these  things  will  be  adiusted. 

''  But,"  says  Mr.  Salesman  of  inquiring  mind, 
"  if  1  tell  my  troubles  to  the  house  1  may  get  a  letter 
telling  me  that  the  house  has  troubles  of  its  own. 
and  that  I  am  paid  to  fix  these  things  for  myself." 

Do  all  you  can  for  yourself  in  fixing  the  business 
of  your  house,  no  matter  how  you  may  be  called  upon, 
but  when  all  is  said  and  done  to  the  best  of  your 
ability,  seek  help  from  headquarters.  If  your  house 
has  a  manager  that  would  send  you  that  kind  of  a 
reply,  and  you  do  not  get  the  sort  of  help  you  require, 
the  best  thing  for  that  house  is  to  discharge  him  and 
get  a  manager  who  understands  that  a  fine  piece  of 
machinery  needs  oiling  to  make  it  run  without  fric- 
tion, 

Nol  oidy  energy  is  needed  in  salesmanship,  but 
method,  system,  and  a  readiness  to  adapt  oneself 
to  the  coiKlitions  recpiired  to  accomphsh  resuUs. 
There  arc  many  salesmen  eager  to  sell  a  bill  of  goods. 
l)ut  careless  about  other  things  pertaining  to  the 
fulfilment  of  the  contract  to  the  miimtest  detail. 
There  are  many  who  seem  to  think  that  if  they 
have  made  a  customer,  il  is  immaterial  whether 
thev  k(  op  him  or  not. 

(  -'^**  ] 


F 


WB^mamr^^^mb,  ^lij^^m 


i'^X'^mEEmmf^i:.^: 


K  '8 


Letters  to  the  Trade 

The  business  letter  of  the  average  salesman  is 
of  a  very  low  standard  —  has  little  if  any  pulling 
power.  It  is  meaningles-,  because  it  contains  noth- 
ing of  jK'rsonal  interest  to  the  recipient.  If  you 
write  every  customer  in  exactly  the  same  w.ay  and 
as  you  have  been  writing  all  j  our  life,  it  is  no  wonder 
that  you  do  not  believe  in  letter-writing. 

He  who  rests  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  knows 
of  the  glories  of  yonder  peak  only  from  other  travel- 
lers who  have  completed  the  arduous  journey. 

There  is  a  certain  style  in  drawing  un  a  letter 
on  any  question  so  as  to  make  it  produce  desired 
results.  The  key  to  the  mastery  of  this  style  is  of 
so  great  value  as  to  make  it  worth  months  of  «-fl'ort 
and  hundreds  of  dollars  to  any  salesman  to  discover 
it.     It  is  not  undiscoverable,  by  any  means. 

To  begin  with,  dont  put  too  much  of  i/oiir.'nll 
into  your  letters.  The  best  customer  on  your  calen- 
dar is  not  interested  overmuch  in  you.  The  thing 
that  concerns  him  is  how  you  can  help  his  .situation. 
Don't  fool  yourself  into  believing  that  you  have  him 
solidlv  bound  to  vou  bv  close  ties  of  friendshij).  In- 
timate  acquaintance  is  worth  much,  to  be  snro,  but 
your  own  brother  will  patronize  you  in  a  business 
way  only  so  long  as  you  can  make  it  worth  his  while 
from  a  dollar-and-cent  standpoint.  That  is  because 
business  is  business.  Friendship  is  another  matter. 
It  is  useful  only  as  a  path-opener  in  business.     It 

I  ^ion  ] 


I 


Men  Who  Sell  Thing.'^ 


will  keep  the  opening  clear  only  as  long  as  it  con- 
duces to  your  customer's  commercial  prosperity. 

But  to  return.  In  letter-writing  keep  yourself 
in  the  background,  jmt  your  customer  s  interests  to 
the  fore,  and  avoid  construction  of  the  machine-like, 
ready-made  order.  Introduce  your  subject  in  a 
graceful,  natural,  and  friendly  style;  then,  carefully 
avoiding  meaningless  sentences,  proceed  into  the 
real  pith  of  your  proposition,  making  your  points 
tell  one  on  another,  briefly,  vividly,  connectedly, 
down  to  the  leave-taking,  which  should  be  genuinely 
polite,  but  withal  natural  and  pleasant,  as  you  would 
say  good-bye  to  a  friend  or  acquaintance  about  to 
depart  on  a  short  journey. 

You  would  n't  greet  an  old  acquaintance  on  the 
street  with,  "Excuse  me  for  taking  this  liberty  in 
saying  how  do  you  do,"  or  "The  favor  of  your  pres- 
ence here  on  the  street  with  me  is  heartily  appreci 
ated,  I  assure  you."  And  you  would  n't  leave  him 
with,  "  I  hope  you  will  remember  me.  Good-bye," 
or,  "  I  hope  I  have  pleased  you  in  this  meeting,  and 
that  you  will  offer  me  further  opportunity  for  con- 
tinued acquaintance." 

Sounds  funny,  does  n't  it  ? 

Well,  that's  the  way  it  .sounds  when  you  w  ^e 
letters  that  way.  If  you  would  n't  talk  that  way  to 
your  friends,  why  do  you  write  in  that  style  ?    Think 

it  over. 

{ 210  ] 


Letters  to  the  Trade 


You  don't  do  it  ?  Oh,  yes,  >x'U  do!  And  you 
are  not  alone  in  it  either. 

Bring  your  customer  as  close  to  you  in  a  letter 
as  you  would  in  a  personal  talk,  if  he  were  sitting 
at  your  elbow  in  the  sample-room  or  talking  to  you 
at  his  own  desk. 

Men  of  limited  schooling  have  found  an  easy 
method  of  increasing  their  vocabulary  in  reading 
extensively  and  studiousl;  .'rom  the  lives  of  great 
men,  and  other  works  of  educational  interest. 
In  precisely  the  same  way  the  salesman  may  in- 
crease his  knowledge  of  correct  letter-writing  by 
making  a  careful  study  of  the  style  adopted  by  men 
who  are  specialists  in  the  art  of  business-letter 
writing. 

Take  pains  with  your  letters.  When  one  is 
finished  in  which  you  wish  your  powers  of  persua- 
sion to  have  full  swing,  read  it  over  carefully; 
study  the  weak  points,  and  try  again.  Keep  on 
trying  until  you  hit  upon  a  style  that  you  feel  cer- 
tain will  have  the  d(  -;ired  effect. 

I  have  known  men  who,  from  long  practice, 
were  skilled  in  the  art  of  constructing  powerful 
business-getting  letters,  to  ponder  for  houis  and 
destroy  many  copies  in  an  effort  at  shaping  up  just 
what  they  wanted  for  a  strong  letter  v  "th  which  to 
fit  a  specific  purpose. 

The  power  of  business-letter  writing  as  a  silent 
f  21 1  j 


t.;1 


liJ 


\ 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

factor  in  salesmanship  is  second  only  to  ilie  oral 

method. 

To  any  salesman  who  will  intelligently  explore 
the  field  there  awaits  a  golden  harvest.  Begin  now 
wliile  the  subji  is  fresh  in  your  mind.  In  i)lace 
of  using  the  conventional  advance  cards,  that  out- 
lived their  usefulness  before  their  invention,  invest 
a  dollar  or  two  occasionally  in  the  services  of  a  pub- 
lic stenographer,  and  keep  your  customers  in  touch 
with  you  by  heart-to-heart,  elbow-to-elbow  business- 
getting  and  business-holding  letters. 

It  will  please  and  surprise  you  amazingly  to  see 
how  quickly  and  effectually  your  work  will  take  on 
new  life.  All  that  is  necessary  to  germinate  it  is  a 
little  time  employed  from  among  the  many  idle 
hours  on  board  the  train  or  about  hotel  lobbies, 
coupled  with  the  slight  investment  of  a  few  cents, 
and  a  larger  one  of  sense. 


!I«] 


Getting  the  Pi'ice 


CHAPTER   XVI 

GETTING  THE  PRICE 

The  hiyhcst  delights  are  often  found  bii  turving 
the  bncic  on  inviting  hji-paths  and  facing  cold  dvtij. 

IT  is  hard  to  redeen)  the  salesman  \vl  >  is  under 
the  narcotic  of  nricc-cutting. 

The  habit  of  niakin<f  your  own  prices  on  your 
employer's  good-;  is  a  moral  kink  in  your  selling 
education,  a  holdback  on  your  advancement  in  the 
profession  and  a  sink-hole  for  the  profits  of  your 
house;  and  if  you  cannot  l)reak  yourself  of  it,  better 
far  that  you  quit  salesmanship  and  become  an  auc- 
tioneer; then  you  can  have  nnlir'ited  latitude  to 
indulge  in  the  pastime  of  tobogganing  on  a  sliding 
scale  of  price-making  where  no  harm  can  be  done. 

The  most  inexcusable  fault  in  any  salesman  is 
the  lack  of  ability  to  get  the  price. 

If  you  will  ahraijn  hrcp  in  mind  the  principle  of 
not  aUmcinij  ijour  cusfonicm  to  make  your  price,  you 
w  "!  find  how  easy  it  is  to  make  sales  at  the  prices 
with  which  your  goods  are  marked. 

There  are  shrewd  buyers  everj'where  who  have 
learned  that  if  they  can  put  the  price  on  the  other 
man's  goods  they  are  morally  certain  of  getting  ilic 
best  end  of  the  bargain. 

When  a  customer  enters  your  saniple-room  an! 
{  21'>  ] " 


f 


c« 


I 


I 


Men  Who  Sell  Things- 

informs  you  Ihut  your  couipcliloi-  lius  ottVitcl  lum 
the  same  nrticle  you  have  just  shown  him  at  a  lower 
price  than  you  named,  ycu  should  at  once  settle  it 
with  yourself  that  you  wil.  be  establishing  a  danger- 
ous precedent  in  falling  into  the  hands  of  that  cus- 
tomer, if  this  ivported  cut  in  price  is  met  without 
careful  investigation.  And  even  then  you  should 
generally  stand  firm  and  refuse  tj  meet  this  com- 
petitive attack.  The  salesman  \^ho  sells  the  right 
goods  to  his  customers  in  the  riglt  way  has  no  need 
to  do  business  at  a  loss  on  any  article,  or  to  allow  his 
competitors  or  his  custo  lers  to  make  his  prices. 

It  is  a  good  thing  to  remember  the  old  rule 
that  a  good  buyer  never  calls  attention  to  the  fact  of 
prices  being  higher  in  one  place  than  another.  If  a 
higher  price  has  actually  been  named  than  he  could 
buy  the  same  article  for  elsewhere,  he  quietly  drops 
it,  slips  away  to  the  store  of  the  man  who  made  the 
lower  price,  and  places  his  order  there. 

In  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  when  a  buyer  (piestions 
your  prices  he  is  merely  testing  your  ners'c  as  a  sales- 
man. If  you  should  yield  just  once,  and  your  house 
be  lax  enough  to  permit  it,  you  are  done  for  on  price- 
getting  with  that  buyer  as  long  as  you  travel  that 
territory. 

The  weak-kneed  salesman  who  is  imaequainted 
with  the  mind  of  the  average  buyer  imagines  because 
he  is  not  strong  himself  on  his  own  gowls  and  prices, 

[  m  } 


I 


Getting  the  Price 

that  the  buyers  on  liis  territory  will  share  his  uncer- 
tainty. If  they  do  share  it,  it  is  because  of  his  re- 
flected weakness,  and  not  on  account  of  his  values. 

All  throuf^h  the  various  phases  of  salesmanship, 
faith  runs  like  a  silver  thread.  If  a  salesman's 
faith  is  weakened  with  dread  and  doubt,  he  must 
blame  his  failure  on  his  lack  of  confidence,  and  not 
on  his  goods. 

When  you  start  out  with  a  new  line  of  goods  at 
the  beginning  of  a  season,  and  your  faith  is  abundant, 
how  easy  it  is  for  you  to  drive  your  points  home  and 
cHnch  your  arguments  with  every  article  shown. 
No  room  for  price-cutting  then  ! 

Now,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  prices  of  the  goods 
in  your  house  are  pretty  generally  right.  An  off 
price  now  and  then,  even  on  a  marked  article,  is  per- 
fectly liable  to  occur,  but  it  is  nothing  to  be  alarmed 
at.  Your  house  could  not  remain  in  business  and 
pay  you  the  salary  you  ar-"  drawing,  if  it  were 
always  under  the  market  on  everything  it  had  to  sell. 

While  you  are  looking  wnth  an  eye  to  picking 
the  easy  sellers  in  your  line,  don't  forget  that  price 
in  merchandising  does  not  cut  so  much  figure  as  it 
did  ten  years  ago.  The  buyer's  argument  then  w  us 
price  and  quantity,  now  it  is  selection  and  quality. 
The  merchant  is  out  of  date  who  goes  about  the 
market  wearing  that  old  price  bugaboo  around  his 
neck.    There  is  little  room  for  doubt  that  liis  shelves 

[215] 


i 


Ml 
J' 


h 


i, 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

are  filled  with  shopworn  "bargains,"  in  place  of 
up-to-date  merchandise. 

On  a  certain  occasion  a  big  and  pompous  dealer 
from  the  West  came  into  our  store,  and  in  a  loud 
voice  said : 

"I  'm  looking  for  the  man  who  makes  prices." 

The  sales  manager  was  called,  and  explained  to 

him  that  no  one  in  the  place  was  empowered  with 

that  privilege.      "Our  prices,"  .said  he,  "are  the 

same  to  you  as  to  others." 

"  But,"  answered  the  merchant,  "  I  have  always 
heard  it  stated  that  you  were  high-priced." 

'•  You  are  willing  to  trust  to  your  own  knowledge 
of  values,  are  you  not?"  asked  the  manager. 

He  said  he  was,  and  expressed  a  desire  to  go 
through  the  house.  Stopping  on  one  of  the  floors 
where  he  thought  it  would  be  a  good  place  for  the 
merchant  to  start  in  to  buy,  the  manager  lamuhed 
into  a  brief,  terse  argument,  in  which  he  cut  loose 
from  cheapness,—  emphasizing  merit,—  laying  stress 
on  inherent  worth  both  of  style  and  quality. 

That  buyer  placed  an  order  for  fifteen  Inmdred 
dollars  before  he  left,  and  came  back  for  more 
goods  each  season  afterwards,  always  acknowledg- 
ing that  that  argument  on  quality  had  been  worth 
a  great  deal  to  him  in  his  own  business. 

I  have  known  salesmen  to  be  so  weak  t)n  price 
that,  when  thev  discovered  an  article  in  the  line  that 

1^16] 


Getting  the  Price 

was  ()\i*r\ulut*d,  frcmi  among  huiulrcds  u(  otiiers  of 
exceptional  value,  all  tlu\v  could  do  was  to  go  about 
the  place  and  hound  cvorvbody  they  ranic  in  coji- 
tact  with  about  it,  as  if  the  whole  future  of  the  hoiisr 
and  themselves  depended  on  immediate  adjust n.ent 
of  the  matter.  Their  arj^ument  was  that  if  a  cus- 
tomer should  happen  to  run  across  it,  it  would 
prejudice  him  toward  the  entire  line.  Nice  com- 
pliment to  their  customers'  knowledge  of  values, 
was  n't  it  f 

For  the  edification  of  just  such  salesmen,  let 
me  emphasize  right  liere  that  Inii/ers  do  not  liirn 
down  a  house  of  xfandiufi  because  of  a  price  or  two 
being  out  of  tJie  vay.  Ever}'  buyer  has  certain  houses 
on  his  staff  that  he  likes  to  favor.  Hefore  "oinir  to 
market  he  makes  a  mental  blue-print  of  the  amount 
of  goods  he  intends  fo  purchase,  and  about  how 
much  he  will  leave  with  each  house.  In  visiting  the 
various  places  he  is  in  the  habit  of  frc<|uenting,  his 

chief  attention  is  given  to  selection  on  styK not 

price.  He  picks  out  patterns  in  one  house  that  he 
did  not  .see  in  another,  and  rice  versa.  If,  perchance, 
he  actually  discovers  the  same  article  in  two  places 
at  different  prices,  and  he  has  already  purchast>d  it 
at  the  higher  price,  he  simply  cancels  his  order 
for  that  one  thing  and  places  it  with  the  other  house. 
But  tm  no  accoimt  does  l.t  condemn  the  entire 
plant  because  of  that  experience.     So  there  is  no 

[«17] 


f 


'i 


.4.s«ifaLif5*. 


ap  '/i 


"1  '*-j 


• 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

need  of  fear  that  your  trade  is  going  to  leave  you  on 
any  such  pretext. 

Enlargement  of  the  heart  is  responsible  for 
price-cutting  on  the  part  of  some  salesmen.  They 
permit  a  huver  to  work  on  their  sympathies  with 
stories  of  the  quantity  of  go<Kls  he  can  us.'  if  the 
price  is  right.  He  pleads  his  case  so  elotjuently  and 
with  such  anlor  that  the  salesman  forgets  that 
successful  .salesmanship  dejH'nds  upon  his  ability 
to  lead  his  customers  —  not  on  following  them. 
Uaders  arc  finders;    follourrs  get  but  leavings. 

"Clouds  are  helped  by  winds  to  rise.     Be  not 
a  cloud;  strive  to  be  the  wind  whose  will  the  clouds 

obey."  .... 

The  spirit  of  accommodation  is  all  right  m  its 

place,  but  it  amounts  to  an  offence  against  your 
house  when  you  take  the  liberty  of  .lis,,laying  it  at 
the  firm's  expense.  It  is  easy  to  be  generous  with 
other  people's  resources,  unless  your  character  is 
free  from  kinks.  Price-cutting  is  character  weak- 
ness.    Did  you  ever  think  of  it  in  that  light .» 

What  right  have  you  to  reduce  the  price  of  an- 
other's goods  purely  of  your  own  volition  ? 

No  more  right  than  you  have  to  go  behind  the 
cashier's  desk,  put  your  hand  in  the  money -drawer, 
and  take  out  the  same  amount  you  l«)j»  off  in  a  cut 
price  and  give  to  a  customer. 

Sounds  severe,   dmv«   it   not?     It   is  the  tnith. 
[218] 


III  I 


Getting  t/ic  Price 

Truth  hurls  .sometimes,  but  whi-n  it  hurts  uiost  it 
dot's  the  mof'l  good. 

You  uif  paid  to  sdl  goods  at  a  profit. 

The  ShtUloii  definition  of  salesmanship  i.s  the 
best  I  have  ever  heanl  — 

•'Power  to  |Mr.suade  people  to  pureliase  at  u 

profit." 

Not  simply  to  purchase,  but  to  purchase  at  a 

profit. 

Your  salary  is  based  upon  a  percentage  of  your 
.sales,  plus  travelling  expen.se.  When  you  out 
prices,  this  percentage  d»K's  not  fluctuate  with 
your  cuts.  It  gt)es  «»n  just  the  same  whether  you 
are  steady  on  prices  or  not.  The  basis  of  profit 
to  vou  reinnins  the  .same.  If  your  house  fixes  the 
percentage  on  the  profits  of  your  sales  instead 
of  the  actual  sales,  that  is  a  diflerent  proposition. 
That  is  the  safest  and  surest  remedy  for  price- 
cutting;    it  makes   the   fiddler  dance  to    his    own 

music. 

The  house  employing  many  salesmen  without 
a  i)rofit-figuring  «lepartnient  is  like  a  steam  boiler 
without  a  safety-valve. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  salesmen  who  have 
enjoyed  the  widest  liberty  in  the  conduct  of  their 
iirui'.s  affairs  abroad,  and  whose  basis  for  .salary 
has  been  changed  from  net  sales  to  profit  on  sales, 
decidedly  prefer  the  latter  n. of  hod.     It  leaves  no 

[iW] 


I 


'3 


to 


<4 


t  ■ 

I 


1 


Ii 


,'l 


J  s 


Men   Who  Sell  Things 

gaps  in  Uk-  selling-fciicc  through  which  tlie  salvsiuaii 
i.«  tempted  to  wander  into  by-paths.  It  is  nlways 
i-asier  to  keep  your  mind  on  f»nc  object  than  on  .•• 
dozen.  AMien  lluit  object  is  the  sale  of  gcHMls  at  ; 
profit,  it  is  easier  of  uecoinplishrnent  willi  the  cours*' 
positively  defined.  The  i.diii  is  yet  uiuhsiovfiod 
who  can  successfully  watch  all  the  attractions  going 
on  at  (»nce  in  a  five-ring  lircns. 

If,  however,  your  house  is  still  oiK>rating  on  the 
old  plan  of  percentage  on  sales,  and  then>  is  no 
limit  to  yotir  latitude  (don't  put  the  «'oat  on,  Jiow. 
unless  it  fits:  this  chapter  is  intended  for  Hial  class 
of  salesmen  for  whom  instructioi»s  have  bill  hftlc 
restraining  inrluencc).  .stop  for  a  niomciil  to  con- 
sider your  house.  It  pays  you  your  saKiry.  H  i> 
the  head  of  the  business  family  of  which  you  arc  a 
member.  True,  you  could  go  elsewhere  and  sc<  urc 
a  position  — almost  any  one  could.  Tliat  is  lli<- 
meanest  argument  you  c«mld  use.  The  (luesliou  is. 
Have  you  no  filial  business  regard  for  the  head  of 
vour  business  family  i- 

>Vhv.  of  course!  Down  in  the  inner  recesses  of 
vour  sterner  nature  you  know  you  have,  only  you 
iiave  not  stopped  to  think  of  it  in  that  light.  Show 
it.  then,  by  (|uitting  the  price-cutting  habit. 

You  wouhl  not  lill  y<.iir  liaiid  aj.^iinst  the 
safety  and  iiiaiiitenance  of  your  own  father's  house- 
hold, would  vou :-     Why  do  yor.  do  it,  then,  against 

[  'i2U  ] 


i 


I 


Gettin"^  the  Price 

the  home  (»f  your  business  family.'  Wlivu  you 
compare  the  two  cnses  tliere  is  ii<»t  much  ditrorenrr. 
You  have  somo  pritlo.  have  you  not?  Well, 
tlien,  if  vou  don't  want  to  l)c  known  to  the  father 
and  l)rothers  of  your  business  family  as  a  weakling, 
constantly  recjuiring  care  and  watching',  «|n«t  that 
habit  of  pr.t  e-(  iiltinj,'.  Start  in  to  hold  up  your  end 
in  supjwrting  that  family,  in  place  of  being  a  drag 

on  it. 

Every  time  that  you  take  a  liberty  that  you 
have  no  business  to  take,  some  one  suffers  for  it. 
When  you  fail  to  do  your  part  in  keeping  up  the 
profits  of  your  house,  your  brother  salesmen  have  to 
carry  the  load  you  have  imposed  upon  them  by  your 
lack  of  sense  of  obligation. 

The  most  justifiable  kick  any  salesman  ever 
nmkes  is  when  another  salesman  in  his  house  cuts 
the  price,  while  he  remains  firm.  If  you  want  the 
privilege  of  being  a  "special  rights"  member  of  the 
family,  you  ought  to  be  willing  to  pay  for  it. 

My  first  business  venture  was  the  establishment 
of  a  house  that  travelled  ten  men.  Our  ( apital  Avas 
li  nited,  and  we  could  not  afford  to  make  •  lany 
mistakes.  But  in  our  desire  to  get  a  foothold,  we 
allowed  our  salesmen  a  considerable  degree  of 
latitude  the  first  two  or  three  years.  Finally  we 
wei-e  obliged  to  call  a  halt.  The  cutting  of  prior^s 
was  ruining  our  busines.s.  Wc  took  tlu-  men  .':  -le 
[  ^2>  1 


f'i 


H 


1;    ! 


I 


Vi\ 


V    i 


r  i 


Men  Who  Sell  Tilings 

one  day  and  explained  matters,  asking  their  support 
in  refusing  to  cut  prices  any  longer.  Our  best  men 
stopped  the  practice  at  once,  but  there  were  three  or 
four  weaklings  on  the  staff,  who  thouglit  the  request 
was  a  joke,  and  to  correct  these  it  became  necessary 
to  make  a  positive  rule  that  all  salesmen  cutting 
prices  would  he  charged  with  the  difference. 

The  rule  worked  splendidly,  and  our  sales  in- 
creased. All  but  one  man  fell  into  line.  He  was 
the  tail-ender  on  the  force,  and  a  little,  nervous, 
over-anxious  fellow,  as  methodical  as  an  eight-day 
clock  about  cverjihing  except  getting  the  price. 
That  worried  him.  He  had  an  enormous  bump  of 
conceit  that  prevented  anything  from  penetrating 
to  his  gray  matter  that  was  not  conceived  by  himself. 

Two  days  after  the  new  rule  went  into  effect  he 
sent  an  order  in  with  several  cut  prices.  On  the 
face  of  it,  there  was  no  earthly  reason  for  his  action, 
as  the  quantities  were  all  small  and  the  prices 
shaved  just  a  little  all  down  the  line.  These  cuts 
amounted  to  eight  dollars  in  all.  We  immediately 
authorized  the  cashier  to  debit  his  personal  account 
with  that  amount  and  to  deduct  it  from  his  next 
pay-check. 

When  our  star  cutter  received  his  check  minus 
the  eight  dollars,  he  got  very  mad  and  came  in  from 
a  near-by  town  to  tell  us  so.  As  soon  as  he  arrived 
we  told  him  to  save  his  breath;    that  we  knew 

[  222  ] 


Getting  the  Price 

what  he  had  come  in  to  tell  us;  that  our  profits  were 
involved,  not  his,  and  we  would  do  the  talking. 

In  language  that  he  managed  to  comprehend  at 
last,  he  was  informed  that  the  rule  would  stand  — 
the  eight  dollars  that  he  had  taken  from  us  and 
donated  to  his  customer  would  not  be  refunded; 
that  we  would  add  to  it  the  amount  of  his  railroad 
fare  from  the  town  he  had  run  in  from  and  back  to 
the  next  one;  that  he  would  be  docked  for  the  time 
lost  while  in  the  house  and  en  route;  that  it  was 
costing  him  money  every  minute  he  remained;  and 
if  there  was  any  doubt  left  in  his  mind  that  we  meant 
business,  and  he  still  wanted  to  deliver  himself  of 
that  kick  he  had  brought  in  with  him,  that  we  would 
accept  his  resignation  then  and  there  and  put  a 
man  in  his  place  from  among  the  dozen  young 
fellows  in  the  store  who  were  waiting  and  anxious 
to  fill  it,  and  who  would  obey  instructions. 

That  settled  it  with  him.  He  turned  red  in 
,  the  face,  a  lump  came  up  in  his  throat,  he  swallowed 
it  along  with  his  conceit  and  with  whatever  it  was  he 
had  come  in  to  tell  us,  reached  for  his  hat,  ])icked 
up  his  grip,  set  it  down,  and  extended  his  hand, 
simply  saying,  "Thank  you.  I  c^n  get  the  price," 
and  was  gone.  We  never  had  any  more  trouble 
with  him,  and  he  did  not  lose  his  trade  either. 

Honestly  mtide  merchandise  that  is  not  out  of 
date  is  equivalent  in  value  to  gold.     Who  ever  heard 

[  'ii^i  ] 


i 

'"I 


H 


iif 


3 


i\y  ] 


h> 


H' 


lii    . 


li! 


iV/d;i  ^Ao  AV//  Things 

of  a  man  selling  a  five-dollar  gold  piece  for  four 
dollars  and  ninety-five  cents  ?     Is  there  any  reason- 
able excuse  why  a  sales  n^  an  should  sell  a  piece  of 
^.loth  _  regular    goods,    uj)-to-date,    and    worth    a 
dollar  —  for  ninety-five  cents  ?     Certainly  not  from 
the  two  common  causes  that  lead  to  price-cutting  — 
fear  that  a  customer  will  think  you  are  robbing  him, 
and  the  fact  that  your  customer  has  more  staying 
(jualities  than  you  have,  when  he  talks  you  into  giving 
him  a  lower  price  than  that  marked  on  your  gor  Js. 
From  actual  experience,  covering  many  years 
as  salesman,  as  buyer,  and  as  manager  of  salesmen, 
I  am  prepared  to  say  that  ninety  per  cent  of  the 
cases  where  price-cutting  is  indulged  in  are  due  to 
one  or  the  other  of  the  causes  mentioned  above. 

xUmost  without  exception,  in  every  case  where 
the  salesman  weakens  on  prices,  the  desire  to  cut 
to  meet  a  combined  attack  from  competitor  and 
customer  results  from  his  ignorance  of  values. 
K710W  your  goods;  know  that  the  price  Is  right; 
know  that  your  goods  are  good  goods  and  wdl  sell; 
know  that  you  can  sell  them,— ami  you  will  necer 
dream  of  price-cutting.  A  dollar's  worth  for  a  dollar 
is  all  that  any  reasonable-minded  dealer  has  any 
right  to  expect,  or  that  any  honest  wholesaler  or 
manufacturer  has  any  right  to  give. 

Everv  time  that  a  manufacturer,  wholesaler,  or 
salesman,  knowingly  or  otherwise,  undersells  a  com- 


Getting  the  Price 

pctitor  or  cuts  to  meet  liim  in  price,  he  either  estab- 
lishes or  aids  and  abets  a  practice  that  is  widespread 
in  its  destructiveness  to  commercial  interests  in  gen- 
eral.    Such  methods  are   at   once  illegitimate  and 
unbusiness-like,  and  therefore  unqualifiedly  wrong. 
"That's    queer,"    chorus    the    salesman    and 
•holesaler   of   little   principle   and   less   backbone. 
Jan't  a  man  do  with  his  goods  what  he  pleases  ?  " 
Legally,  yes.     Morally,  no. 
No  man  has  any  moral  right  to  undermine  the 
work   of  others   all   around  him  who  are  honestly 
engaged  in  their  efforts  to  become  successful.     The 
quicker  the  price-cutting  salesman  is  forced  out  of  the 
profession,  the  better.     If  it  is  his  house  that  is  guilty, 
the  sooner  it  fails  and  goes  into  bankruptcy,  the  bet- 
ter for  the  common  good  of  others  engaged  in  its  line. 
At  the  time  our  new  rules  went  into  effect  with 
our  salesmen,  we  also  abolished  the  two-price  system 
which  had  been  in  vogue  in  our  store  since  its  incep- 
tion.    Our  men  loudly  proclaimed  that  the  "  short- 
price  "  customers  would  never  stand  for  it,  and  that 
we  should  lose  a  large  percentage  of  our  big  accounts. 
^  'o  not  now  -ecall  that  we  lost  a  single  customer. 

Our  line  being  a  seasonable  one,  we  paid  a  little 
closer  attention  to  the  buying  end  of  the  business,  and 
we  found  our  customers  ready  to  pay  our  price  for 
merchandise  that  was  in  demand:  the  kind  that  was 
not,  they  would  not  take  at  any  price. 

[  225  ] 


4 


i-  '. 


h 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

I  took  a  short  trip  into  the  West  in  ho  interests 
of  certain  large  accounts.  The  line  I  took  along  was 
exclusively    from    our   manufacturing    department. 


e 


This  line  Ave  sold  both  to  jobber  and  retailer.  Vi 
had  placed  it  that  season  with  a  number  of  large 
jobbers  in  our  own  territory,  whose  competition  we 
were  obliged  to  meet  on  our  own  goods  sold  through 
our  own  jobbing  department. 

Naturally,  the  matter  of  fixing  the  ]iri<<'  w:is  an 
interesting  one  witli  us,  having,  as  ':tated,  jilwlished 
the  two-price  system,  while  the  jobbers  to  whom  we 
had  sold  were  still  using  it.  Tlie  situation  was  per- 
plexing, but  we  were  determined  to  act  on  the  princi- 
ple we  had  laid  down,  and  so  we  marked  the  line  at  a 
fair  and  reasonable  profit  without  concern  as  to  what 
others  were  doing  with  it. 

This  was  an  unusual  instance,  and  1  am  relating 
it  solely  for  the  purpose  of  illustrating  hon-  utterly 
groundless  are  the  salesman's  fears,  who  attempts  to 
prognosticate  the  attitude  his  customers  may  take 
toward  his  house  in  case  it  is  discovered  that  he  over- 
charged them. 

But  to  return  to  that  "Western  trip.  An  old 
customer  and  personal  friend,  who  conducted  an 
extensive  business  in  one  of  the  cities  visited,  took  a 
decided  fancy  to  the  line.  He  was  a  good  buyer,  was 
very  direct,  said  but  little,  and  required  no  urging. 

After   thoroughly    looking    the    line    over,    he 


Getting  the  Price 

selected  twenty  or  lliirty  numbers  in  good  (luantities, 
without  question  as  to  prices. 

There  was  one  pattern,  huv.ever,  that  came  in 
several  styles  that  allracled  his  attention,  but  he 
could  not  seem  to  decide  upon  it.  Wlien  we  had 
gone  through  the  entire  line  he  relumed  to  that 
pattern,  examining  ver}-  attenti\ely  the  various  styles, 
the  meanwhile  revolving  something  in  his  mind  that 
was  slow  in  coming  out. 

Venturing  to  help  him,  1  remarked,  "That 
pattern  seems  to  interest  you." 

"Yes,  I  like  it,"  he  answered,  "but  "t  the  price, 
eighteen  dollars  per  dozen,  I  can't  use  it.  The 
pattern  suits  me,  and  1  would  give  you  an  order  for 
several  dozen  at  sixt<>en  fifty,  which  would  enable 
me  to  put  it  ou^  at  a  certain  i)rice  I  was  figuring  on, 
but  1  don't  want  to  make  a  price  on  your  goods." 

I  chaffered  with  him  a  little  to  no  purpose, 
finally  making  the  eoncession.  I  figured  out  that  no 
harm  could  come  of  it,  as  he  was  our  only  customer 
there;  besides,  I  wanted  to  please  him,  as  he  had 
<-iven  me  an  exceptionally  good  order,  and  sixteen 
dollars  and  fifty  cents  was  all  that  T  would  have 
asked  of  him  under  our  former  two-price  sy.stem. 

Ah!  but  those  are  not  the  real  reasons  why  I 
eame  down  on  the  pri(<-.  1  migl  I  as  well  own  up 
that  1  was  afraid  some  one  of  those  other  houses 
carrving  our  Hue  would  <()me  along  and  quote  him 

[■221\ 


V'.W 


! 


^il 


I) 


f  . ' 


^  1 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

a  short  price  on  that  number,  placing  me  in  an 
embarrassing  position  that  would  be  difficult  to 
explain,  especially  as  I  knew  that  two  houses  were 
selling  him  more  goods  than  we  were,  who  had  the 
line  from  us  that  season. 

^\^len  I  returned  home  and  related  my  ex- 
perience to  our  manufacturer,  he  laughed  so  long  and 
loud  that  it  made  me  angry,  and  I  asked  him  what 
there  was  funny  about  it. 

"Funny?  Ha!  ha!"  he  exclaimed,  "it's  the 
funniest  thing  I  ever  heard  of.  Here  you  've  been 
conjuring  up  in  your  mind  what  our  competitors 
would  do  to  you  on  the  price  of  that  pattern,  and  it 's 
the  only  dead  thing  in  the  line.  We  positively 
haven't  placed  a  dozen  of  it  with  any  jobber  on  our 

books." 

It  did  l(M)k  funny,  and  I  laughed  too,  but  that 
cured  me  of  worrying  about  my  cc.npetitors'  prices. 

Work  hard,  intelligently,  and  per  seven' ugly  on 
your  line  of  goods.  Never  fear  competition;  do  not 
see  it,  hear  it,  or  feel  it  —  that  i,s  the  nay  to  make  com- 
petition fear  yon.  Too  much  time  is  lost  in  watching 
for  possible  evil  to  ourselves  resulting  from  another's 
methods.     Let  the  other  fellow  lose  it. 

Comjxjtition  is  like  the  weather:  it  is  different 
on  different  ''ays,  but  it  is  always  wilh  us.  The 
man  who  fears  the  weather  is  sure  to  catch  cold. 

[  228  ] 


Drens  and  OrderUneas 


CHAPTEP   XVII 

DRESS   AND   OKDEIUJNESS 

Pay  aitention  to  your  clothes,  and 
others    ivill   jhi:/   attention   to   you. 

Orderliness     in     sai'ftmanship 
the    science    made     more     pcrje^ 

GOOD  clothes  help  to  make  a  salesman.     Ob- 
servers are  more  impressed  by  the  tidiness  of 
one's  clothing  than  by  its  expensiveness  or  variety. 

It  is  said  that  no  one  ever  notices  a  man's  linen, 
unless  it  is  soiled;  or  his  hat,  unless  it  is  of  unusual 
shape,  or  dusty,  or  shabby,  or  his  shoes,  unless  they 
are  loud,  or  need  blacking,  or  are  worn  down  at  the 

heel. 

True,  unpleasant  conditions  do  attract  notice, 
but  it  is  undeniable  that  the  observer  is  always 
agreeably  impr  ;;sed  by  the  cleanliness  and  good 
style  which  distinguish  the  gentleman.  Fa'ctij  sales- 
man, therefore,  owes  it  to  himself  and  to  his  house  to 
be  well  dressed. 

The  secret  lies  more  in  the  choice  of  clothes  and 
the  way  tliey  are  taken  care  of  than  in  their  ccpensive- 
ne.ss  or  variety.  Often  the  man  with  a  modest  ward- 
robe is  better  dressed  than  the  one  with  many  suits. 
Naturally,  the  man  is  light-headed,  not  to  say  wicked, 
who  would  squander  on  coats,  boots,  and  neckties  an 

[  i'ia  ] 


r= 


Men  into  Sell  Things 

income  huiBcieiit  to  supi^rt  several  families;  but  thr 
cxaraplc  of  the  t-arelcs^,  .slovenly  man  is  not  in\iting. 
and  if  ex  ivagance  is  to  W  deplored.  Hiere  is  uieril 
in  good  dressing.  Strike  tli.>  l.;r,)i.y  niediuni.  Be 
neither  a  Hean  liruniniell  nor  a  dnsl-stained  Weary 

Willie. 

Neglect  of  the  clothing  is  a  symptom  of  sloven- 
liness that  is  ai)t  to  be  progressive. 

The  well-dressed  salesman  is  <f  rupiilously  neat 
carrier  himself  well,  and  is  alert  and  active.  The 
salesman  who  is  content  with  ill-fitting  clothes, 
.shabby  hat,  .soiled  linen,  rusty  shoes,  an.  I  a  collar 
that  i.s  a  size  too  large  may  be  a  very  bright  man  and 
representing  a  first-class  house,  but  he  cerlairdy  does 
not  look  that  way.  The  first  impression  the  observer 
forms  of  him  is  that  he  is  a  "  down-and-outer," 
bordering  on  a  .state  of  collapse.  So  much  depends 
on  first  imi)ressions  and  in  keoiiing  up  good  impres- 
sions once  formed,  that  every  salesman  should  regard 
his  personal  appearance  as  important. 

Contempt  for  clothes  is  too  often  associated  with 
laziness.  The  salesmen  whom  the  general  trade  care 
to  meet  are  those  who  "  keep  up '"  in  every  w  ay.  In 
matters  like  dress,  it  is  a  good  thing  for  the  salesman 
to  try  to  get  a  look  at  himself  "as  others  see  him." 
H  matters  little  what  your  income  is  or  the 
claims  there  may  be  upon  it,  you  can  at  least  afford 
to  patronize  a  tailor  who  can  give  your  .lutiios  a 

[  2:?n  ] 


DresH  ami  Orderliness 

stylish  cut  and  a  nejit  fit.  Propt'rly  .selected  and 
adjusted  fifty-cent  neckties  look  as  goo<l  as  dollar 
ones;  anvl  a  hat  that  becomes  you  costs  no  more  than 

a  misfit. 

Personal  appearance  in  salesmansliip  counts  so 
nuuh  and  costs  so  little,  that  any  salesman  can  afford 
Uie  price,  and  it  is  money  well  invested.  A  man  is 
jiidf^ed  almost  as  much  by  his  appearance  as  by  his 
:■(  tions  or  the  dej.^rce  of  bis  sanity  in  this  progressive 
age.  A  well-dressed,  alert  salesman  will  get  a  "  look 
in"  with  a  brusque  merchant,  while  his  slovenly 
brother  is  being  waved  aside  with  the  busy  signal. 

Orderliness  in  dress  goes  hand  in  hand  with 
orderliness  in  the  sample-room  and  orderliness  in 
everything  else  connected  with  the  work  of  a  sales- 
man. Nothing  creates  in  the  buyer  a  desire  to  huij 
like  .stepping  into  a  well-ordered  .salesroom.  The 
most  attractive  line  of  goods  will  lose  out  fifty  per 
cent  through  ineffective  display  in  a  duttered-up 

roon:. 

The  proper  display  of  samples  on  the  road  is  a 
subject  worthy  of  the  closest  stu<ly.  Due  care  should 
also  be  given  to  cleaning  up  the  sample-room  in 
general  before  going  out  to  round  up  a  customer. 
Waste  paper,  trays,  and  empty  boxes  should  be 
stowed  away  out  of  sight,  and  everything  arranged 
in  apple-pie  order,  if  one  hopes  to  conduct  a  cus- 
tomer through  the  line  without  a  hitch. 

[  231  ] 


i\ 


Li 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

Some  salesmen  are  naturally  ortlerly;  others 
learn  to  be,  by  hard  knocks  taught  in  the  school  of 
experience;  and  still  another  class  never  leani  the 
lesson.  I  graduated  from  the  second  class  during 
my  6rst  year  on  the  road.  It  happened  in  this  way. 
My  line  was  (Visplayed  in  a  larj^e.  hustling?, 
northern  Michigan  town.  Our  house  had  practi- 
cally no  business  there,  and  my  first  three  visits 
were  devoted  largely  to  an  effort  to  interest  the 
largest  concern  in  the  place;  but  I  failed. 

On  my  fourth  trip  I  found  the  buyer  of  my  line 
away  on  sick  leave.  The  head  of  the  house  was  a 
crusty,  nervous  old  man;  but  not  wishing  to  be 
turned  down  altogether,  I  summoned  courage  enough 
to  approach  him. 

In  place  of  the  curt  refusal  I  expected  to  receive, 
to  my  surprise  he  asked  in  a  quick,  sharp  manner  if 
I  would  be  in  my  room  at  the  hotel  at  twelve  o'clock. 
Receiving  a  reply  in  the  affirmative,  he  promised  to 
meet  me  there  at  that  hour.  With  eager  expectancy 
I  went  back  to  wait  out  the  interval.  I  was  nervous 
and  dreaded  liis  coming,  for  that  was  my  first  ex- 
perience face  to  face  with  a  big  merchant. 

He  was  on  time  to  the  second.  With  youthful 
indiscretion  I  greeted  him  rather  more  effusively  than 
the  occasion  required,  which  he  failed  to  notice,  how- 
ever, for  he  pushed  right  by  me  into  the  room  without 
any  ceremony  whatever.     Before  I  had  recovered  my 

[232] 


Dress  and  Orderliness 

mental  equilibrium,  he  was  firing  questions  ut  me, 
two  at  a  time,  t-onccming  the  value  of  various  items 
in  the  Une.  Without  giving  ine  time  to  answer  even 
his  first  incjuir)',  he  sturlcd  for  the  »loor,  with  the 
remark  that  he  guessed  there  was  n't  anything  he 
wanted.     Stop[)'ng  on  the  threshold,  he  turned  and 

said,  "  If  you  have  a  black  silk  at ,  I  can  use 

a  few  pieces." 

"  Certainly."  I  said.  "I'm  sure  we  have  it,"  and 
commenced  a  search  lliat  ended  in  despair.  The 
piece-goods  sanspies  were  jumbled  in  a  telescope 
with  two  or  three  other  lines,  and  in  spite  of  desper- 
ate efforts  to  locate  that  sill,  sample  I  couldn't  put 
my  hand  on  the  right  onv,  although  I  knew  it  was 

there. 

He  got  impatient,  and  I  got  nervous,  which  gave 
me  blind  staggers,  and  I  couldn't  have  found  that 
sample  if  it  had  stood  in  front  of  me  as  large  as  the 
statue  of  Liberty.  Muttering  something  about  "  dis- 
orderly salesmen,"  he  rushed  out,  banging  the  door 
beliind  him.  I  dropped  into  a  convenient  chair  in  a 
cohl  sweat.  Ten  minutes  later  I  located  the  offend- 
ing sample  and  started  to  run  over  to  his  store  with 
it,  when  it  .struck  me  that  he  was  probably  at 
luncheon.  At  one-tliirty  I  found  him  in  his  office 
and  hastened  to  apologize  for  the  delay, 

"  Never  mind  troubling  yourself,  young  man," 
he  said,  in  a  rasping  lone,  "I  have  just  placed  an 

[  233  1 


Men    nim  Sell  Thlnfrs 

oi.l.r  lor  hveaty  pinos  of  tlir  >ilk  I  w;mlt«l  witli  a 
Nrw  Y(»rk  salc'siruii  wlio  kiops  lii  aiiiplo ^  when- 
Ik-  <;,n  fni.l  lliem.'"  And  IIr-ii  Im  ^,'ivi-  j,'<''><l  mcnsur.-. 
In-  siddo'l.  "  If  voii  inimin  on  liic  i'>:i<l  ami  v\\n^v\ 
to  ,sm<r.-,l,  yon  11   liavr   to  kci,  your  wits  about 

you." 

The  K)ss  <tf  that  oi(l«  1  amount. •(!  to  four  hun- 
dred dolhirs,  besides  a  chance  to  j,'et  an  openinjj- 
ncd^'c  hi  witli  a  oilt-edge  concern.  I  did  n't  need 
any  coaching  after  that,  on  h<nv  lo  keep  stock  in 
th.  saniple-nioin. 

rro])cr  i(irc  of  .mmplcM  is  as  ntccs.'iarij  a.s  cfjec- 
tive  display  o'  orderiij  arrantjcincnt. 

The  thrr  vital  factors  in  the  sucre.s.iful  sate  of 
(jood.i  from  xamphs  are:  first,  the  stawiimj  of  i/our 
hmm':  second,  ijoar  own  power  of  persuasion:  third, 
the  condition  of  your  samples. 

The  most  painstaking  salesman  will  find  that 
with  packing  and  unpacking  his  trunks  every  <lay. 
his  samples  .soon  become  worn  and  unattractne. 
What  then  happens  to  the  careless  man  i'  Many  a 
time  I  have  seen  a  line  of  what  had  once  been  choice 
goods  in  an  utterly  .shabby  condition  before  they  had 
been  out  ten  days,  and  for  the  balance  of  a  trip 
of  several  weeks  the  salesman  carrying  them  was 
obliged  to  make  the  best  showing  he  could  with 
ruined  samples. 

It  is  a  ditficult  matter,  even  for  a  buyer  possess- 
[234] 


iiig  the  kf«.-m'st  iiiiJi(,'inHli.ni,  \u  >trol.  Ii  ins  laiuy 
from  n  straw-liat  sjitiijU-  tliat  look.s  like  a  pmirtund 
huslicl  basket  tu  llu-  smart  artidr  of  hcul^'car  il  wiis 
when  it  <aiiir  fn•^ll  Iroiii  tlu-  f.-ictorv. 

When  ;i  (lot hill-,'  sah'siiiaii  evlraets  from  a  piU' 
a  j^uniu'iit  that  n-seiiiliU's  a  liiu'ii  ihister  in-^Uad  of  the 
snappv,  ui»-to-<late  oat  that  il  omt-  was.  his  cus- 
tomer is  very  hkelv  s  it  with  the  "'ha-.  I)eens" 
ami  ask  to  he  >aown  >  .inethiiig  in  the  prcvaihng  style. 
.1  go(xl-loolciiifj  Mnii[)l('  is  n  sulc  half  made. 

When  I  was  in  the  johhiiifj:  business  at  D , 

a  profiinent  straw-goods  mainiraeturer  called  on  ns. 
aceunipanied  by  his  regular  salesman. 

The  occasion  of  his  vi>it  wa>  to  introiluc*-  a  new- 
line,  lie  .sueeeeded  in  arousing  the  intere-^t  of  our 
hat-buver.  who  imbued  me  to  go  al(»ng  with  him  to 
the  manufacturer's  s.i!.ij)le-room  to  look  his  line  over. 
Picklnt'  u»>  a  certain  block  that  he  tln>ught  was  des- 
tined  to  have  a  great  run,  the  manufacturer  ^tarttsd 
to  show  forth  its  merits.  Stopping  suddenly,  his 
eves  riveted  on  a  certain  -pot  on  that  hat,  he  called 
his  salesman  over  to  our  grouj),  and  there  in  front  of 
us  all  pave  the  unlucky  fellow  the  worst  "roa.sting" 
1  oA'er  heard. 

"Do  you  .see  that  dent   In  the  crown   of   this 
hat  ?"  he  asked. 

It  was  so  small  that  the  rest  of  us  luul  failed  to 
notice  it;   but  his  .s;de.smaii  udinitied  it  was  tnc  re. 

[  2;J5 ; 


mM^M^^'^'^^^'^^^''  jm-^'^*^^ 


^(1 


•,i*  • 


Me7i  Who  Sell  Things 

"Well,"  continued  the  muiiufacturcr,  "haven't 
I  told  you  repeatedly  to  pac'c  your  samples  so  as  to 
insure  them  against  damage  ?  In  another  two  wee'cs 
this  sample  will  be  utterly  worthless.  Do  you  ei:- 
pect  to  finish  your  trip  introducing  this  hat,  and  to 
take  orders  from  it  in  a  dilapidated  state?" 

The  manufacturer  worked  himself  up  to  a  great 
state,  while  his  salesman  stood  before  him,  utterly 
unable  to  defend  himself.  Although  he  was  guilty 
of  carelessness,  he  was  too  manly  to  offer  excuses,  so 
said  nothing. 

"  Perhaps  you  know  where  another  line  is  com- 
ing from;  I  don't,"  his  employer  started  in  again. 
"  1  tell  you  what  ii  is,  I  want  you  to  take  more  care 
with  these  samples.  If  it  lakes  all  day  to  pack  up, 
you  see  to  it  after  this  that  they  are  packed  to  avoid 

breaking." 

The  salesman  was  saved  from  further  reprimand 
by  a  telephone  call  from  the  office.  AMien  he  had 
left  the  room  I  asked  his  employer  if  he  was  n't  a 
Uttle  rough  on  hiin,  and  whether  such  talks  were 
not  more  effectively  conducted  in  private. 

"Perhaps  so.  No  doubt  you  are  right,"  he 
answered  in  a  half-apologetic  manner,  "  but  it  is  so 
exasperating.  I  lost  my  self-control  for  the  moment. 
Permit  me  to  explain,  however,  what  my  salesman 
knew  from  long  exi^rience,  that  a  new  line  of  samples 
like  these  is  made  ready  only  after  weeks  of  work 

[236] 


>?V.."W 


fai^ 


-•  '.^.um!&i 


Dress  and  Orderliness 

and  great  expense.  Our  sample  line  is  our  stock  in 
trade  until  the  orders  are  all  in  and  the  factory  run- 
ning. A  duplicate  line  could  not  be  had,  excepting 
at  great  cost  and  a  loss  of  time.  In  any  event, 
there  is  really  very  little  excuse  for  careless  packing. 
A  damaged  sample  is  a  poor  foundation  argument 
upon  wliich  to  build  a  satisfactory  business  in  a  new 

Hne." 

Barring  the  unpleasantness  of  the  sample-room 
incident,  that  talk  impressed  me  o,  that,  inmiediately 
on  returning  to  my  office,  I  caused  to  be  sent  out  to 
our  own  travelling  men  a  detailed  account  of  what 
had  taken  place. 

A  salesman's  duty  to  his  house  does  not  consist 
alone  in   reaching  a  satisfactory  figure  in  volume 
of  sales.     Other  things  require  his  attention  to  com- 
plete his  real  worth.     Profit,  not  sale     is  the  objec- 
tive point  of  every  house.     Chasing  sales  instead  of 
profits  is  a  disastrous  game  for  either  salesman  or 
employer.     Wanton  extravagance  in  expense,  loss 
from  damage  on  samples,  returned  goods,  and  claims 
of  whatsoever  nature,  resulting  from  loose  methods 
in  making  sales,  are  all  profit-drainers.    If  you  wish 
your  sales  to  increase,  and  if  you  have  an  honest 
interest  in  seeing  your  house  make  profits,  see  to  it 
that  your  sample-line  is  kept  in  the  best  possible 

condition. 

Again:  orderliness  plays  an  important  part  in 
[  <i37  ] 


I 


'j.x'  ■-■■■ 


w% 


b- 


Men  fTAo  Sell  7'hings 

the  clerical  work  eveiy  salesman  is  obliged  to  do 
each  day.  Your  bad  [)eninanship  may  be  pardonetl 
if  you  iiave  not  had  the  advantages  of  ihorough 
training,  but  there  can  be  no  possible  excuse  for  you 
if  your  orders  are  so  carelessly  transcribed  as  to  be 
i  ncom  prehensible. 

We  had  in  our  employ  a  man  of  exceptional 
ability  as  a  salesman;   but  in  spite  of  his  superior 
attainments  in  other  respects,  it  seemed  impossible 
for  him  to  transcribe  an  order  properly.     The  habit 
of  carelessness  had   such   a  hold   upon  him  that, 
in  spite  of  the  repeated  efforts  of  the  head  of    '. 
house  and  others,  down  to  the  order  clerk,  he  cc    c* 
not  be  made  to  reform.     He  would  invariably  o.   ,. 
the   name  of  the   town,  or  the  customer's  name, 
or  neglect  to  state  departments,  so  that  the  oflRce 
was  in  a  constant  turmoil  wlieu  filling  his  orders. 
He    was    great    on    abbreviating.     He    would    so 
abbreviate  word;^  that  only  he  and  a  mind-reader 
could  have  deciphered  them.     We  never  could  get 
him   into   the  habit  of  being  orderly  about  these 

things. 

Don't  let  the  habit  of  disorderliness  grow  upon 
you  if  you  want  to  be  a  lu  Ip  instead  of  a  nuisance 
to  the  order-filling  depart rn«>nt,  where  so  much  de- 
jjends  upon  (piick  service.  lie  particular  also  to  see 
io  U  that  your  manager  Is  kepi  In  constant  touch  with 
your  movements  on  the  road.      At  times  it  means 

[  2.')S  ] 


mm 


:'---^>5i^^^^< 


nuicli  to  any  business  to  be  able  to  reach  a  salesman 
within  a  few  hours  by  wir 

Some  men  travel  their  itinerary  with  the  pre- 
cision of  an  advance  agent  for  a  theatrical  company. 
The  office  can  put  its  finger  on  them  any  time,  any- 
where around  the  circuit,   almost  on  the  instant. 
And  their  retu.a  home  occurs  on  the  very  day  and 
hour  of  their  original  schedule  left  in  the  office  on 
their  departure.      Others  leave  behind  a  carefully 
prepared   rouij  list,  and   from   the   moment  their 
backs  arc  turned  on  headquarters,  they  jiroceed  to 
hop,  skip,  ai.d  jump  erratically  over  their  territory. 
They   are  never  to  be  located,  and  seldom  return 
witliin  three  or  four  days  of  scheduled  time.     When 
they  do  come  in,  it  is  ten  to  one  that  a  bee-line  is 
made  for  the  manager's  office,  where  they  begin  to 
kick  about  being  "  neglected  "  on  new  samples  and 
other  current  matter  such  as  was  sent  out  to  the 
men  every  few  days. 

Keep  ill  touch  with  the  office  if  you  want  the 
office  to  keep  in  touch  with  you. 

Be  orderly  about  ever}'thing  pertaining  to  your 
work,  and  your  interests  and  the  interests  of  your 
house  will  move  forward  with  dock-like  precision, 
bringing  satisfaction  of  a  triple  alliance  nature  to 
customers,  house,  and  salesman. 


[  339  ] 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

RETAIL   SALESMEN 

Less  working  at  H,  and  ,nnre  thought  abord 
it      Ldd     help     many     salesmen     behind 
ke    Lnter    to\ise   above    the  dead  level. 
Sunshiny  salesnutnship  softens  the  frostiest  buyer. 
"XTOT  yet.  but  soon"-the  "near-salesman's" 
N  motto -explains  the  reason  why  more  sales- 
men measuring  calico  at  ci.ht  dollars  a  -ok^-  ^^ 
earning  eighteen  hundred  dollars  a  ye-  «  J-  . 
at  the  silk  or  dress-goods  counter.      Yet  there 
Im  for  real  salesmanship  even  behind  the  cahc^ 
counter,  and  the  essentials  are  the  same  there  as 

anwvhere  else.  ,    . 

'  It  is  an  honorable  occupation,  tx>  be  sure,  biit 
when  a  young  salesman  is  content  to  remam  at  it 
Tongerthan  a  year,  his  gumption  is  several  degrees 
below  ambition.  If  he  cannot  in  some  manner 
raise  it  up  a  few  degrees  at  a  time,  untd  it  reaches  an 
ordinary  man's  thinking  and  working  capacity,  ne 
will  be 'rooted  there  for  th.  remainder  of  his  dujs^ 

Many  retail  salesmen  drudge  along,  satisfied 
with  a  mere  treadmill  existence.  "Oh,  what  s  he 
use?"  they  argue,  "there's  no  chance  in  a  retail 

store,  anyway."  .. 

If  there  is  no  chance  for  you  where  you  are.  it 
[240] 


msL^.fimm^:'  mw.^^ 


mMmm^u^^Xtm 


Retail  Salesmen 

is  a  dead  certainty  that  you  are  not  suited  for  the 
work  you  are  doing,  and  the  sooner  you  get  out  and 
give  some  one  else  a  chance,  the  sooner  will  you  be 
giving  both  yourself  and  your  employer  a  square 
deal.  As  a  rule,  the  salesman's  position  behmd 
the  counter  is  a  pretty  fair  measure  of  his  capa- 
bilities. 

Some  salesmen  have  the  capacity  to  draw  mo- 
lasses from  the  bung-hole  in  a  barrel  without  smear- 
ing it  over  the  measure  and  on  the  floor;  they  can 
weigh  out  a  dollar's  worth  of  sugar,  and  do  it  so  well 
that  the  balance  is  a  hair's  weight  in  favor  of  the 
customer;  but  if  they  were  put  in  charge  of  the  gen- 
eral order-filling  department,  with  several  salesmen 
under  them,  they  would  fizzle  out  completely.     They 
have  not  the  breadth  of  mind  to  grasp  the  require- 
ments of  a  large  position,  and  they  attempt  to  apply 
their  small  conception  of  trotting  from  the  molasses- 
barrel  to  the  sugar-box  to  the  more  important  mat- 
ter of  mastering  many  details.      It  can't  b-    ione; 
and  naturally  they  fail. 

As  the  retail  salesman  broadens  his  position, 
he  assumes  new  responsibilities,  and  he  must  change 
his  viewpoint  to  Jit  the  expanding  scope  of  his  greater 
undertaking.  Floaters,  life-buoys,  and  danger-ropes 
are  all  right  for  timid  surf-bathers,  but  to  swim  out 
into  broad,  deep  water  requires  physical  courage 
and  well-seasoppd  powers  of  endurance.     Inability 

I  241] 


-.« 


■,.t,<J  • 


If 
i 


'M 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 
to  leave  the  shore  line  marks  the  man  who  would  bet- 
rstay  in  close  to  .hore.  where  little  boats  are  sa  e 
There  is,  oK  so  much  for  a  salesman  to  be,  to 
do,  to  get,  to  earn,  to  try,  in  every  retad  estabhsh. 
2nt,  tit  there  is  UtUe  excuse  and  less  ho,e  Jor  the 
man  who  says  there  is  no  chance. 

I  have  no  desire  in  my  heart  to  say  one  thing 
derogatory  to  your  position,  no  matter  how  humble 

''  "?he  man  whom  I  am  after,  whether  he  is  at 
the  five-cent  counter  or  taking  orders  that  run  up 
nto  the  hundreds,   is   that   self-important,   small- 
calibre  "near-salesman"  who  so  thoroughly  neglects 
his  customers  that  they  grow  chilly  in  his  presence 
e  en  though  the  day  is  hot.      Few  retail  shoppe 
escape  frequent  experiences  of  that  kind,  and  it  is 
Ta  e  o  say  that  no  one  ever  becomes  a  better  customer 
of  the  house  where  salespeople  of  that  stamp  are  tol- 
erated.    The  house  may  be  a  good  one.  but  one  goes 
away  feeUng  that  they  do  not  appreciate  his  trade 
Now,  if  you  "near-salesmen"  don't  like  what  I 

am  writing  about  you  and  to  you.  don't  look  at  me. 

Get  your  eyes  open  so  that  you  can  see  yourself  - 

that  is  the  first  sight  to  look  at. 

mat  are  you  cutting  up  about?    Putting  on 

airs  with  a  twelve-dollar-a-week  position!    That 

what  every  one  who  patronizes  your  counter  is  trjnng 

to  figure  out. 

!  2-12 


Retail  Salesmen 

Your  house  (loos  not  pay  you  io  strut  around 
Uke  a  farm-yard  Dantam  rooster.  All  that  your 
customers  ^vant  from  you,  and  have  a  rif^dit  to  ex- 
P    ,t,  is  courteous,  business-like  attention,  without 

frills  of  anv  kind. 

I  want  to  get  you  mad.  That 's  why  I  'm  usmg 
unceremonious  language  in  developing  your  picture. 
When  a  man  gets  good  and  angry  because  some  one 
has  told  him  the  truth  about  himself,  he  can  gener- 
allv  be  depended  upon  to  go  out  and  "clean  up"  ui 
a  thorough,  wholesome  manner.  If  he  makes  a 
good  job  of  it,  it  won't  be  long  before  you  hear  ot 
him  doing  something  of  real  acc-ount. 

I  never  .saic  an  uppi.sh  mle.smaii  In  uvj  life 
in  ivhose  .-ile.sma,iship  I  had  any  confidence.  A 
"smart"  salesman  is  a  man  whom  no  one  cares  to 
have  much  to  do  with. 

When  a  man  becomes  inoculated  with  the  germs 
of  true  salesmanship,  he  gets  it  in  his  blood,  muscles, 
head,  and  soul,  all  over  from  head  to  foot,  and  it 
makes  a  sensible,  industrious  man  of  him. 

Carrv  a  smile  through  your  work.  Whenever 
a  salesman  cannot  be  sunshiny  with  his  customers 
he  is  in  need  of  a  liver  tonic. 

"Blessed  is  he  who,  having  found  his  own 
work,  clutches  it.  clings  t(.  it,  directly,  consecutively. 

and  always." 

Therein    li-     t.ie    secret    of    accomphshmenl. 


« 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

When  a  salesman  has  little  or  no  conception  of  the 
obligations  his  position  imposes  upon  him,  to  say 
nothing  of  lack  of  desire  for  advancement,  then 
it  is  that  soft  platitudes  and  high-sounding  phrases 
are  of  no  avail. 

This  book  is  for  negative  salesmen,  not  positive 
ones.  The  man  who  is  surrounded  and  choked  up 
with  weeds  of  indolence,  neglect,  and  carelessness 
is  the  one  I  want  to  reach. 

Pulling  weeds  loosens  the  roots  and  injures  the 
growing  plant  for  the  moment;  but  soon  it  lifts  its 
head  and  takes  on  new  growth  in  the  free  soil, 
becoming  sturdy  and  eventually  fruitful  instead  of 
a  weak,  withered,  inanimate  thing  almost  crushed 
out  by  the  weeds  that  were  gradually  sapping  its 

life. 

The  safest  and  surest  way  for  the  retail  salesman 
to  advance  from  a  lowly  position  to  a  better  one  is  by 
performing  his  daily  work  in  a  thoroughly  satisfac- 
tory manner.  His  present  surroundings  may  not  be 
congenial,  but  all  that  can  be  changed  if  he  will  set 
his  mind  on  something  better  and  strive  hard  to 
reach  it.  Wishing  will  not  do  it.  He  must  work 
and  be  patient. 

Begin  by  being  poliie  atul  obliging  to  every 
customer  that  visits  your  counter,  whether  you  think 
there  is  a  chance  for  a  sale  or  not.  Make  it  plain 
that  it  is  not  only  no  trouble  for  you  to  show  goods, 

[  244  ] 


■SI 


Retail  Salesmen 


but  a  pleasure.     Make  your  customers  feel  at  home 
with  you  on  the  instant  by  an  immediate  willingness 
to  serve  them  intelligently.     Create  desire  by  uiaK 
ing  tactful,  helpful  suggestions. 

There  is  considerable  difference  between  the 
salesman  that  attempts  to  force  facts  down  the 
buyer's  throat  and  the  one  that  offers  information 
in  reasonable,  smooth,  and  pleasing  doses.  Do  not 
thrust  your  ideas  upon  your  customers,  but  in  an 
easy,  natural,  and  pleasing  way  attract  their  sym- 
pathy and  secure  their  confidence.  You  will  then 
experience  little  trouble  in  making  sales,  even  where 
desire  is  totally  lacking,  as  indicated  on  the  surface. 

Get  over  the  idea  that  where  tlu  re  is  no  desire 
there  is  no  chance  t^  make  a  sale,  and  that  almost 
every  one  entering  a  retail  store  has  his  mind  fully 
made  up  on  wliat  he  intends  to  j)urchase.  Nothing 
could  be  farther  from  the  real  facts.  The  average 
shopper  is  glad  tn  hare  xuggcailnn.s  wlien  he  known 
they  are  honestly  and  infclligcntly  given.  But  the 
whole  matter  rests  on  confidence.  You  can  do  nothing 
to  aid  a  customer  in  making  selections  until  you 
have  first  secured  his  good-will  by  that  indefinable 
something  in  your  manner  that  leads  him  lo  believe 
that  you  are  to  be  tmsted,  and  that  you  really  wish 
to  be  of  service  to  him. 

It  is  important  also  that  you  do  not  fool  your- 
self into  believing  that  vour  employers  are  unmind- 


h. 


:4 


m 


Men   Who  Sell  Things 

ful  of  your  presence  in  their  estHblislunenl,  iiiid  that 
whelber  you  are  servin;^  them  ill  or  well  nakes  no 
tlilTerence,  bocau^"  either  way  it  escapes  their  iiotico. 

That  mistaken  idea  is  at  tlu-  foundation  of 
many  a  clerk's  falluro.  DejMMul  uj)on  it,  your 
weekly  sales  are  closely  s<anne<l,  and  your  f^eneiul 
ileportinent  keenly  ohser\'ed.  Th.-'  you  do  not 
receiye  jH'rimlical  lectures  from  y  superiors,  or 
that  you  are  not  discharged,  as  ou  might  have 
expected,  is  not  gocnl  evidence  that  you  are  not 
being  watched.  On  the  contrary,  e\(>ry  move  you 
make  is  mentally  or  otherwise  reconlod. 

If  you  are  a  half-hearted,  go-as-you-please  sales- 
man, the  chances  are  tl'"t  you  would  have  been 
discharged  long  ago,  but  for  the  fact  that  your 
.inj>loycrs  know  from  experience  how  hard  it  is  lo 
get  capable,  trustworthy  salespeople,  and  that  the 
best  they  tan  hoi>e  for  is  a  fair  average. 

"Where  are  you,  Mr.  Salesman.'  Above  or 
below  the  average  ? 

It  matters  not  so  much  to  your  employers  to 
which  class  you  belong,  so  long  as  the  average 
remains  good,  but  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to 
yourself.  If  you  are  below  tlie  average,  the  responsi- 
bility rests  solely  with  you  to  get  on  the  other  side  of 
ll;c  dead-line.  That  there  is  plenty  of  rooi  i  goes 
without  saying;  it  only  remains  for  you  to  show 
your  real  worth,  and  tlie  transfer  will  take  place 

[  246  ] 


Hefail  Sdletntwn 


without  your  giving  notice  that  you  arc  ready  to 
raf)ve  up. 

There  are  as  many  opportuniHes  for  advance- 
ment in  the  retail  as  in  the  wholesale  branch  of  any 
business;  but  if  the  wholesale  salesman  conducted 
liimself  as  thousands  of  retail  salesmen  are  doinj^ 
every  day  all  over  the  land,  he  would  last  just  about 
one  trip,  and  that  would  end  his  career  on  the  road. 

I'hc  travcllinf;  salesman  i^oes  out  and  digs  up 
business,  while  his  ret  lil  brother  stays  at  home  to 
receive  it.  In  either  case  the  chances  for  advance- 
ment are  about  even. 

The  average  travelling  salesman  does  not  miss 
many  towns  without  making  sales  of  some  sort;  but 
hiu)dreds  of  prospective  buyers  are  turned  away 
from  retail  stores  every  day  without  being  properly 
waited  upon,  and  this  results  in  a  serious  loss  of 
S/Usiness  to  the  house  where  indifferent  salesmen  are 
employed. 

How  many  customers  visit  your  counter  or  de- 
partment every  month  and  go  away  without  buying 
anything,  is  a  question  for  you  to  decide.  One 
thing  is  certain  to  the  man  who  is  familiar  with  both 
branches  of  the  trade,  and  that  is  that  niany  .^ales 
are  lost  at  retail  in  large  establishments  every  day 
from  lack  of  attention  and  proper  sellijig  ability, 
such  as  is  absolutely  necessary  on  the  pasi  of  Ihe 
trav«  Ming  salesman. 

[  247  1 


':^v. 


.» 


i!^ 


Men   Who  Sell  Things 

\t  every  i<'lail  sstlcsmaii  could  take  u  tii|.  on 
I  lie  ron«l  for  ii  few  weeks,  he  would  return  to  his 
i.iuntcr  aii'l  inoreftse  his  >ale3  fifty  per  cent  the 
iir-I    month    iheroaffrr. 

'the  he.it  uii]i  for  a  retail  salesman  '  >  di'ide 
n,  hair  to  treat  his  cttsiorrrs  is  to  pay  an  orraKumal 
rlx't  to  otht-r  retail  houses  for  purcluiscs,  and  to  take 
jMifiicular  notice  of  the  trcafrnent  accirded  him  by 
the  salesmen  in  each  place,  and  the  effect  it  las 
upon  hinj.  Ti  en  he  shuiihl  remember  t<»  put  Jni 
self  in  the  place  of  tlie  salesman  \vh<.  iia<le  the 
be^t  impression  on  him,  whenever  hi-  euston.wrs 
come  to  buy 

When  a  pros|>ective  buyer  approa*  iie>  vuu,  who 
has  just  been  treated  i?)  a  <  «ild-bloo«le'i  manner  by 
an  inefficient,  neglectfui  <  lerk  in  a  conifwtitfir's  store. 


and  you  greet  him  wi!ii  a  ph-asant  smiK 
indv  show  him    ever  tluriir  he  want- 
especially  something      iat    li     will    be 
ested  in,  you  will  fi'       ally  -^uccee'   i 
s»l^.  and  your  new-}',  und  customer   wi 
feeimg  ihat  he  has       ih    well  'o  eh  inp< 
from  the  cold-blo  .deci  house. 

Now.  Mr.  Retail  Salc^m        st'p  ai 
matter  ^oii!-' thouglr      Ren     ufc»rthatwi 
the  couii'e:-  in  your      nploy      s  v(i;i 

place  of  \  i)ur  emy)loy      to  ev 
vnu  come  ia  coulucl.     ,\. 


-I 


ohlij 


><*e,  a    i 
u'h    iate- 
akmr 

dfc 

ills 

tiind 

the 

r  witii   vhom 

r  iiiat  in  c-tber 


utdit      ilfsmen 

ston    .  MXii    |>erliaf>H  al  <     er  counters   'ti  the  nof 
ill    vxhich    \i  II   arr   <'iii(ilii;    d,   there   are    plenty 
-Hlt-^iiu'ii  who  are  cold  aii«l  "fhesfy"  to  tb*'ir  cu 
'  >iii«Ts,  and  that  if  you  cuii  manage  to  be  nt-vi     o 
of  s<irts  with  any  rustoiiuT,  y  ni  gain  a  s'lri'*!  snl\    '^ 
uijje  ovtT  your  grouchy  nrigh,    »rs. 

Which  s  desnian  do  >u  think  ■'■  U  best  pa\ 
you  tt-  cop\  — the  one  »vh<»  .lU' lo  i\v  '>est  im- 
pression on  N  'U  on  your  own      'ir  hasi 


the  i><      who,      ith  a  coKl  'oi 
sneer,       c?        ne  vcrA   luiyiii 
possibl'    customer  thiu     mw 

1).       .4    think   t!  at     .e< 
sale.^      lU  IS  (Uscour  vuv 
witiiouf    losing  his    !m»si 
tha     vay  ^vhene^  >u  f' 

""on -»<-*itor  is  youi-eh       Tut 
to  ^i:    a?^  from  ',  iti    a,  nnd 

B-    alwmy.H  bein      dI 
great    .isjd  small,  b\ 
their  triidc.  and  by  i. 
you   know  v  i'     intereri   u^ 


*our,  or 

ident 

It      i,  every 

*hi-  tch? 

=ur  neighboring 

fill  of  his  trade 

vou   can  afTonl  to  be 

'ike  it.      Your  worst 

4  important  battles 

*  without. 

to  your  customers, 

)ur  appreciation  of 

,  yourself  in  the  thing'^ 

11,  you  can  soon  out- 


distance your  lii-natured  neighbor  in  the  race  for 
success.     A  continuation  of  the  same  kind  of  treat- 
ment which   put     him  out   of   the  race  will,  also, 
oon  .sliovs'  result-  in  'he  fight  you  are  making  for 
"•omotion. 

\m\   cnn   be  sv,r<»  of  one  thinjr  —  'f  VOU  Xrv 
[249] 


'  n 


l! 


Me7i  Who  Sell  Things 

your  best  to  be  friendly  and  accommodating  to  all 
customers  and  show  them  you  appreciate  them,  you 
will  be  doing  all  that  any  <.ne  could  possibly  do  to 
get  and  hold  their  trade,  all  that  was  ever  done  by 
tl.  >sc  who  were  once  struggling  as  you  are  for  a 
foothold,  but  who  now  enjoy  high-salaried  positions 
and  a  share  in  the  profits  in  the  house  where  you 
are  employed. 

Every  successful  retail  merchant  started  where 
you  arc  and  won  out  by  being  faithful  to  his  trust. 
Your  verj'  biggest  club  with  which  to  despatch 
all  doubt  as  to  your  advancement  is  the  good-will 
and  confidence  of  those  above  you  in   authority, 
and  the  friendly  feeling  of  every  one  with  whom  you 
have  (leaUngs  of  any  sort.     With  this,  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  your  jmrticular  line  of  goods,  and  a 
careful  study  of  the  duties  of  the  man  just  ahead 
of  you  in  a  more  rcs])onsible  position,  you  will  find 
you  are  in  mighty  good  shape  to   !iold   your  own 
against   all  newcomers,  and  lo  be  a  candidate   for 
promotion    on    tlie    first    opportunity    thai    arises. 
There  in  no  fnich  thing  as  good  salesmanship  without 
enthusiasm.     I  know  we  have  what  we  call  "  near- 
salesmen,"  but   they  do  not  possess  that  p.-'cious 

quality. 

1  do  not  believe  you  can  separate  enthusiasm 
and  true  salesmanship.     In  fart,  enthusiasm  is  the 

life  of  salesmansliip. 

[  2.50  ] 


ti 


Retail  Salehinen 

The  .salesuian  who  is  enthusiastic  in  the  sense 
that  he  pays  more  attention  to  the  sporting  edition 
cl  the  daily  papers  than  to  his  customers,  Avho  hands 
out  a  yard  and  a  half  of  unbleached  cotton  and  a 
mile  and  a  !.alf  of  self-importance  for  twelve  cents, 
does  not  know  the  mcanin  ;  of  enthusiasm. 

And  I  want  to  say  to  you  men  who  profess  to  be 
salesmen,  but  who  are  just  plain  every-day  shams, 
that  I  do  not  intend  to  lose  a  single  chance  to  pour 
hot  shot  and  grape  and  canister  into  your  ranks. 
You  arc  the  gentlemen  I  am  after. 

Now,  if  the  sham  salesmen  who  happen  to  en- 
counter these  lines  want  to  continue  to  be  shams  in 
the  open,  1  say,  "Go  it,  go  it,  boys";  but  if  you 
members  of  the  profession  who  are  only  "  near- 
salesmen  "  posing  .as  the  genuine  article  want  to 
continue  so  to  po  r,  I  will  brand  you  as  no-accounJs 
until  vou  cither  reform  or  renounce  vour  faith  in 
the  profession  of  salesmanship,  and  start  to  look 
for  some  other  kind  of  employment. 

Somebody  lias  a  right  to  say  a  few  things  along 
these  lines,  and  I  propose  to  have  it  out  with  your 
class  before  I  get  through  with  you,  whether  you 
interpose  any  objections  or  not.  I  want  to  talk  to 
you  men  who  have  made  your  sham  pretences  in 
tlie  world  of  salesmanship  and  drawn  pay  for  work 
wretclicdly  done,  keeping  a  real  salesman  out  of  the 
game  that  you  are  trying  to  play.     You  have  been 

[  2M  ] 


I  '  i 


Hi 


wm 


V- 

i 
I 
i 

r 


ilfe^t  H^ho  Sell  Things 

at  it  long  enough  to  be  a  stumbling-block  and  a  dis- 
grace to  the  science  of  the  greatest  of  all  professions. 

I  can  stand  anything  better  than  I  can  stand  a 
sham  or  shirking  salesman.  I  always  did  have  a 
hatred  for  near-things,  humbugs,  and  cheats,  and 
of  all  the  humbugs  that  ever  plied  a  profession,  the 
"near-salesman"  is  the  "humbuggest." 

When  a  man  who  thinks  he  is  a  salesman  gets 
a  little  swell-headedness,  a  little  "  I 'm-it-ness," 
and  a  little  of  almost  everything,  and  is  made  up 
out  ot  a  hundred  dififerent  sorts  of  negative  things, 
and  attains  a  little  twelve-doUar-a-week  position,  then 
he  is  a  first-class  humbug  in  everj-  sense  of  the  word. 

With  your  salesmanship  right,  with  the  foun- 
tain clear,  the  stream  will  be  clear.  With  a  good 
tree  the  fruit  will  be  good.  And  I  declare  to  you, 
"near-salesmen,"  that  the  hardest  work  a  man 
ever  tried  \.>  do  is  to  be  a  salesman  without  sales- 
manship; to  be  a  good  salesman  with  a  shallow 
nature  end  a  sham  heart. 

There's  no  denving  the  fact  that  every  retail 
salesman  is  at  times  sorely  tried  with  people  who 
look  at  the  world  through  blue  glasses,  but  the  pro- 
fessional salesman  knows  that  sunshiny  salesman- 
ship softens  the  frostiest  buyer.  It  is  difficult  to 
keep  patient  while  waiting  on  a  grumpy  customer, 
but  it  pays  in  th(!  end  to  keep  your  temper,  even  with 
the  most  obstinate  and  surly. 

[252] 


Retail  Salesmen 

The  salesman  who  is  intent  on  achieving  the 
greatest  celling  results  literally  burrows  into  the 
business  of  selling  goods.  He  must  have  a  nose  for 
sales-making  as  true  and  keen  as  the  scent  of  the 
bloodhound.  That  is  enthusiasm.  It  can  be  devel- 
oped. Fall  in  love  with  your  work,  and  you  cannot 
help  becoming  enthusiastic. 

Enthusiasm  is  a  soul  quality  springing  from 
knowledge  and  confidence.  The  more  knowledge 
you  have,  the  greater  becomes  your  confidence,  and 
your  enthusiasm  increases  in  the  same  proportion. 

Look  on  the  bright  side  of  things.  Nothing  so 
paralyzes  enthusiasm  as  pessimism. 

Next  to  honesty,  enthusiasm  is  the  most  essen- 
tial quaUty  in  successful  retail  salesmanship. 

Arguments  are  of  no  avail,  and  tact  is  worse 
than  wasted,  if  you  do  not  present  your  subject  with 
all  the  enthusiasm  you  can  muster. 

The  listless  answers  and  hesitating  manner  of 
"near-salesmen"  cause  all  shoppers  to  wonder  why 
these  men  are  not  displayed  in  the  show-cases  in 
front  of  them  in  place  of  the  goods  they  represent. 
Put  the  goods  on  top  of  the  case  and  crawl  in- 
side, Mr.  Near  Salesman.  Almost  any  article  of 
merchandise  in  your  department  is  able  to  plead  its 
own  case  much  more  eloquently  and  eflfectively  than 
can  yon,  if  you  will  give  it  half  a  chance. 

Who  has  not  been  angered  and  driven  away  in 
[253] 


m^  T 


iij 


•?! 


1 

■  t. 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

disgust  by  having  goods  bauged  down  in  front  of  him 
and  the  price  hurled  in  liis  leetli  by  a  dyspeptic  sales- 
man with  a  makes-little-difference-to-me-whether- 
you-take-it-or-leave-it  expression,  who,  believing  his 
whole  mission  is  performed,  stands  glaring  at  him, 
wailing  for  his  decision  ? 

In  truth,  the  only  thing  the  customer  is  trying  to 
decide  upon  is  whether  to  land  on  his  brainless 
cranium,  report  him  at  the  office,  or  go  across  the 
street  and  get  what  he  wants  from  Joy,  Gladhand 
&  Co.  If  he  is  of  a  peaceful,  retiring  nature,  and 
does  not  want  to  create  a  scene,  he  hastily  selects 
something  that  he  would  n't  have  as  u  gift  under 
other  circumstances;  but  he  is  determined  io  have 
no  more  dealings  with  that  house.  He  will  keep 
on  trading  with  Joy,  Gladhand  &  Co. 

Then  there 's  a  twin  brother  to  our  dyspeptic 
friend,  a  few  doors  down  the  street.  His  name  is 
Meander  Gadgood.  You  walk  blithely  up  to  his 
counter,  feeling  at  i)eace  with  all  the  universe,  and 
stand  there,  first  on  one  foot  and  then  tiie  oilier,— 
tw:),  three,  five  minutes,— waiting  for  Meander  to 
separate  himself  from  a  group  of  })ennant-winning 
judges  in  council  at  the  other  end  of  the  counter. 

Just  as  you  are  thinking  of  going  over  to  Joy, 
Gladhand  &  Co.'s,  Meander,  with  a  ten-mile  look 
in  his  .<ves,  saunters  up.  Never  a  word  does  he  speak. 
With  one  eye  menacingly  raking  you  over  from  head 

f  2.54  \ 


f*m^ ..  :f■''^'^lk!^^■l^:«^^ 


Retail  Salesmen 

lo  foot,  and  the  other  regretfully  focussed  on  the 
other  boys,  he  stands  there,  his  gray  matter  —  what 
little  there  is  of  it  —  following  his  favorite  ball  team 
on  a  distant  diamond. 

Though  there  is  a  reasonable  excuse  for  homi- 
cide on  your  part,  you  smother  your  wrath  and  jiolite- 
ly  ask  to  be  shown  the  latest  styles  in  three-dollar 
fancy  shirts.  Listlessly  reaching  into  the  case. 
Meander  i»aws  over  the  stock,  extracts  a  couple  of 
patterns,  slides  them  over  to  you  with  the  air  of  one 
administering  absent  treatment,  and  stalLs  back 
to  see  how  the  judges  have  settled  the  matter. 

About  the  time  you  have  concluded  that  you 
don't  need  any  more  shirts  anyway,  back  he  comes 
and  hovers  like  a  phantom  long  enough  for  you  to 
say,  in  tones  that  indicate  a  gathering  storm,  that  if 
he  is  through  with  his  more  important  business  than 
waiting  on  his  customers  you  will  look  at  a  few  more 
shirts,  including  some  of  the  good  sellers. 

Not  being  an  adept  at  human  barometer  read- 
ing. Meander  fumbles  around  in  the  stock,  finally 
lu'^<Tinu  out  one  or  two  more  patterns  that  any  man, 
to  say  nothing  of  a  shirt  salesman,  might  know  were 
selected  with  poor  taste.  Bombarding  you  with  his 
new-found  relics  of  a  past  season's  success,  he  retreats 
again  in  perfect  order  to  the  rear-guard  for  another 
confab.  Intuitively  feeling  the  angry  glances  cast 
in  his  direction,  he  determines  to  renew  the  attack  by 

[  2.>.5  1 


!,-' 


I      ,    / 


ii 


-^''miv 


H 


kiu 


i  I 

1 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

rushing  things,  and  sails  back  only  to  be  repulsed 
with  a  fusillade  of  indignant  protests. 

Without  a  moment's  further  loss  of  time,  you  are 
well  on  your  way  to  Joy,  Gladhand  &  Co.'s,  where, 
when  you  ask  to  see  shirts  in  any  style  or  price,  no 
effort  is  spared  until  the  entire  line  is  promptly  dis- 
played, if  necessary,  to  please  a  customer  and  insure 

a  sale. 

Are  you  that  kind  of  salesman  ?  If  you  recog- 
nize your  portrait  and  it  faib  to  please  you,  don't 
blame  the  photographer.  He  cannot  improve  on 
nature  by  making  a  pleasing  likeness  from  an  un- 
attractive subject. 

Mr.  Near  Salesman,  the  time  has  gone  by  when 
representation  without  couiiesy,  or  life,  or  enthus- 
iasm can  produce  profitable  sales.  \ou  must  show 
the  spirit  of  accommodation  and  be  interesting  and 
convincing  in  your  arguments.  You  cannot  do  that 
successfully  unless  you  are  full  of  your  subject,  have 
the  utmost  faith  in  your  proposition,  and  are  running 
over  with  enthusiasm. 

A  new  spirit  rules  the  world  of  salesmanship 
in  place  of  the  old  go-as-you-please  regime.  It  is 
an  expression  of  the  mighty  force  that  does  things  — 
enthusiasm.  If  your  blood  corpuscles  are  not  sat- 
urated with  it,  you  are  out  of  date,  and  you  will  soon 
be  out  of  salesmanship  if  you  do  not  find  a  way  to 

cultivate  it. 

1  256  ] 


Miex 


wmi\'W¥jt' 


Retail  Salesmen 

Enthusiasm,  the  first  requisite  in  salesmanship, 
a  sincere  interest  in  the  thing  to  be  sold,  and  a 
desire  to  sell  it  decently,—  that  is,  really,  nearly  all 
there  is  to  it;  for  enthusiasm  must  perforce  lead  to 
a  study  and  a  knowledge  of  the  thing  to  be  sold,  as 
well  as  a  study  of  those  to  whom  we  wish  to  sell  it. 
You  cannot  cultivate  enthusiasm  with  one  eye  on  the 
clock  and  the  other  on  everything  else  than  the  cus- 
tomer who  is  patiently  waiting  an  opportunity  to 
spend  some  of  his  money  at  your  counter. 

A  good  salesman  nmst  know  more  about  his 
goods  than  the  man  he  is  selling  to  knows  about 
them.  Knowledge  and  enthusiasm  beat  oratoiy 
every  time.  Enthusiasm  in  a  salesman  b.crets  en- 
thusiasm in  a  customer. 

You  must  know  your  business  and  you  must 
work,  if  you  wish  to  hold  trade,  get  new  trade,  and 
draw  a  bigger  salary  than  the  common  average  of 

salesmen. 

The  law  of  nature  is  yet  to  be  discovered  that 
will  prevent  a  salesman  being  diplomatic,  enthusias- 
tic, honest,  and  hard-working  all  the  time.  Look 
about  you,  and  you  will  discover  a  few  like  that 
in  the  very  ranks  in  which  you  serve.  Keep  your 
eyes  on  them,  they  will  not  remain  with  you  long. 
You  will  !«cc  them  advanced  to  managing  posi- 
tions   or   owning   their   own    businesses   in   a   few 

years. 

[257] 


nil 


I   L 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 
There  is  a  chance  for  you  if  you  will  about  face 
and  take  up  the  line  of  action  in  real  earnest. 

In  an  interview  by  a  well-known  writer  on  busi- 
ness subjects  with  one  of  the  leading  State  Street 
department  stores  in  Chicago,  he  was  told  by  the 
manager  that  a  young  man  once  appHed  to  his  house 
for  a  position  as  salesman.  He  was  asked  what  his 
qualifications  were,  and  he  answered,  "My  stock 
in  trade  consists  of  knowing  the  faults  of  ordinaiy 
salespeople  through  having  to  put  up  with  them 
during  many  years  of  shopping." 

He  was   given    a  place,  and  the  first  day  sold 
more  goods  than  any  other  salesman  in  his  depart- 
ment.    He  had  the  knack  of  putting  customers  inio  a 
good  humor  by  laying  himself   -nd        please.      He 
studied  his  customer's  first  iiivjuiry      tently,  and 
followed  that   up   instantly  and    intelligently.     At 
the  end  of  a  year  he  was  earning  twenty-five  dol- 
lars per  week  in  that  store.    A  short  time  after- 
wards he  was  offered  fifty  dollars  a  week  by  a 
gentleman  accompanying  a  cross-grained  customer 
whom  he,  without  losing  his  temper,  had  success- 
fully waited  upon  under  exceedingly  vexing  circum 

stances. 

On  leaving  to  accept  the  new  iwsition,  one  ol 
his  fellow-salesmen  asked  him  how  he  accounted  for 
his  remarkable  ability  to  effect  sales. 

Promptly  came  the  reply:  "The  great  majority 
[258J 


Retail  Salesmen 

of  salespeople  lack  tact,  enthusiasm,  and  sympathy 
with  customers." 

A  great  many  high-salaried  travelling  salesmen, 
and  nearly  all  of  the  most  successful  retail  merchants 
in  the  countr}',  have  themselves  been  behind  the 
counter.  There  is  no  better  place  to  get  a  selling 
education. 


t 

u 

t 


1*591 


<  !i 


ii 


^'W./^fW^r: 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  SALESMAN'S  UELATION  TO  CREDITS 

Credit  huihh  up  bu.nnes.;  truth  builds  up  credit. 

THE  fortune  of  a  business  house  rests  on  the  wis- 
clc.ni  and  courage  of  the  credit  man. 
There  are  three  vital  branclie.  -  buyinR.  selhng, 

and  credits.  .     .,     i     •     i 

The  cretht  departn.ent,  whih-  la.st  in  the  k,gical 
line-up,  is  first  in  real  importance  in  the  final  analysis 
of  the  house's  prosperity  as  a  whole.    The  woods  are 
full  of  salesmen -bright  men  who  can  argue  and 
ably  defend  the  right  of  the  sellinj,-branch  to  claim 
paramountcy  over  the  other  two;    and  buyers  are 
ever  ready  to  fall  back  on  the  old  axiom      (.ood.s 
ucll  b  ujht  are  half  sold";  but  in  ivality  the  credit 
dopartu.cnt  is  the  foundation-stone  upon  which  rests 
the  pros,K>ritv  of  salesmen,  buyers,  and  all. 

Thoe  three  great  departments  are  so  closely- 
interlinked  that  inrforce  they  must  go  for^^^rd, 
shoulder  to  shoulder,  supp-^rting  one  another.  Like 
the  engine,  tender,  and  cars  of  a  train,  they  mus. 
.ull  together.  The  engine  hauls  the  train;  the 
lender  carries  the  coal  and  water  with  which  to 
get  up  steam;  and  the  cars  bear  the  load.  Each 
has    its    work    to    i-erform.     The    bre,.kmg    of    a 

[  260  ] 


The  SaUmnan's  Relation  to  Credits 

coupling  threatens  disaster  und  uiemis  a  aluud^sliU 
ail  around. 

The  object  of  a  train  of  curs  is  to  get  somewhere 
with  .somelhinjr-  The  soinelhing  is  its  Ircighl.  A 
greut  business  liousc;  is  u  ci.nunereial  train  in  char^'o 
of  eni^'ineer  and  condu<t<>r. 

Somewhere  in  a  book  on  salesmanship  1  have 
seen  the  sah man  describe<l  as  the  engine,  steam, 
coal,  nnd  the  whole  paraphernalia.  Not  so.  The 
salesman  is  just  the  engineer  furnishing  the  force. 
The  buyer  is  the  tender  supi»lying  the  material.  The 
credit  man  is  the  car  that  .nrries  the  load.    The  track 

is  its  trade. 

The  real  object  of  tlu-  entire  outfit  is  the  load. 
In  business  the  load  is  its  credits.  Credits  proiK-rly 
made  mean  profits  and  salaries.  The  credit  mp.n  is 
the  conductor  of  the  train.  The  best  thing  the  sales- 
man can  do  if  he  wants  to  get  aboard  is  to  keep  near 

the  cars. 

Credit  men  are  the  commercial  conductors,  and 
salesmen  are  the  commercial  engineers;    there  you 

have  it  right. 

Evenj  sales^man  i^hould  seek  to  establish  a  close 
friendly  relationship  leith  the  credit  man  of  his  house. 
The  man  who  thinks  he  can  gel  along  well  enough  by 
lumself  makes  a  great  mistake,  encountering  many 
pitfalls  that  could  easily  liave  been  avoided  by  advis- 

1m  the  end  he  must  do  that 


inrr  with  his  credit  man. 


an  ] 


I  il 


i^l9ilfr^''MFJk.JS^. 


Men   ffho  Sell  Things 


anyway.  Ic.  u<.  bale  is  Unal  until  il  i  assc:.  tht  credit 
.Icnartnum .  The  salosican  who  lbii»ks  he  could  gel 
along  V,  vv  nic-cly  if  it  were  not  for  ilu-  -  old  man  '*  at 
the  desk  ^^ould  get  idong  a  great  deal  Letter  .f  he 
t<H,k  hin,  .utirely  into  h.>  confid.iue  ami  frtnly 
sought  hi^  advice  concerning  hi-  trade. 

In  t..rn  information  to  the  (  redit  man  from  the 
salesman,  under  ordinary  <  onditions,  is  iKCuliarly 
valuable.     'I  lie  salesman  is  posted  as  is  no  <*ne  else, 
by  frequent  vi.its,  knows  the  buyers'  strong  and 
weak  points,  the  general  .umlition  of  trade  m  the 
towns  and  surroun.ling  .  ountry.  and.  if  shrewd,  can 
intuitively  sense  the  ha/.anl  of  nn  account  from  .ictual 
contact  with  all  (onditions   surrounding   it.     If  a 
salesman  rep^.rts  his  opinion  of  each  risk  assumed 
by  the  house  on  his  territory,  it  does  not  t«kc  long 
to  tell  the  value  of  his  observations  and  whether 
he  possesses  the  capacity  <.f  giving  a  dei>endablc 

rating. 

The  credit  man,  like  the  salesman,  must  know 

more  of  a  man  than  he  knows  himself. 

The  two  classes  of  men  resendilc  each  other  in 
the  delicacy  and  the  tmerousness  of  the  duty  they 
have  to  i)erform  in  reading  the  signs  of  the  coming 
stoppage  of  pn  account. 

No  salesman,  however  efficient  in  other  respects, 
^to  ^.addles  liis  firm  with  uncollectablc  or  trouble- 
some accounts,  can  hope  to  succeed  in  the  long 

(262] 


1 
1 


The  Sakffman's  Relation  U>  Credits 
run.     lie  h  a  source  i.f  lu.ss  iuslcftd  of  u  mediuui  of 

profit.  , 

In   realUu,  the  mle»mnn   U  the  fitd  putge  oj 
crediU  for  hil  house.     No  mailer  what  fate  may 
utlciHl  his  cUoi'-'u  of  ncounts.  whfti  they  reach  the 
cmlit  man  the  first  .seitcVicm  Is  entirely  in  his  hands, 
ir  he  is  hc.it  on  rollinj;  up  sales  i.l  any  hazard  nu.re 
than  to  the  nioie  iinp<.itant  wovk  of  carefully  i)iek- 
ing   his   wav    and   keepinj^   ihe   credit   department 
jMjsted  on  tlie  changing  cniplexion  of  his  customers' 
affairs,  he  wdl  find  himself  ( ontinually  in  hot  water. 
He  is  the  first  judge  oi  credits  in  every  tvansacti.)n. 
The  credit  man  may  exercise  supervision,  may  accept 
or  reject  his  onlers,  hut  he  dci)ends  upon  the  sales- 
man's judgment  more  than  on  any  other  source  of  in- 
formation, and  looks  to  him  as  the  man  on  the  ground. 
Exercise  your  discretion   fo  the  hest  «.f  your 
ability,  and  where  the  slightest  douht  exists  as  to  a 
basis  for  credit,  tell  the  cred't  man  all  about  »t.  Many 
sak men.  like  the  ostrich  that  hides  his  head  in  the 
sand,  poinl  only  to  the  bright  side,  in  the  blind  hoin; 
that  the  other  side  will  not  be  detected.     One  Hung 
is  certain  where  this  is  practised:   i:  the  credit  man 
is  unable  to  verify  the  negative  side,  accepting  the 
salesman-s  report,  and  ships  the  goods,  sooner  or 
later  the  telltale  truth  will  come  out  in  the  ledger. 
'•Be  sure  your  sin  will  find  you  out";  there  is  no 
escaping  that  ledger  ir.  its  ^vork  of  .separating  the 

[263] 


^*-'" 


ii 


(,\ 


n^i 


d 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

sheep  from  the  goats.    Then  it  is  that  the  salesman's 
weckness  is  discovered  and  his  measure  taken. 

The  shrewdest  and  most  experienced  make 
mistakes,  but  picking  good  accounts  means  a  great 
many  things  to  be  avoided  as  well  as  accomphshed. 
A  general  warning  for  over-zealous  salesmen,  and 
especially  for  the  young  salesmen,  may  be  sounded 
in  the  .statement  that  poor  credits  always  betray 
themselves  to  the  close  obser\er  in  some  manner  or 
other,  and  to  avoid  unpleasant  complications  the 
result  of  such  observations  should  always  accom- 
pany the  order.  Better  still ,  leave  the  "  lame  ducks  " 
for  the  other  fellow.  There  is  no  sport  to  the  real 
sportsman  in  taking  a  crack  at  a  ^vinged  bird  simply 
to  bag  the  game.  Go  after  the  good  accounts ;  there 
are  plenty  of  these  on  every  man's  territor)-. 

When  an  account  that  has  once  been  good  begins 
to  go  the  other  way,  do  all  you  can  to  preserve  it  by 
proper  nursing,  helpful  suggestions,  and  accurate 
information  to  the  credit  department  Remember 
Ihat  the  very  cxij^tence  ol  your  house  rests  on  the 
ability  of  its  credit  man  to  know  the  assets  of  its 
customers,  the  condition  of  their  business,  the  chances 
of  being  willing  and  able  to  pay.  With  hi.;  ex{)eri- 
enced  eye  and  mind  he  can  foresee  a  coming  crash 
long  before  the  man  most  interested.  He  can  see 
Ihc  faults  of  location,  of  stock,  of  character  of  the 
man.     In  refuing  credit  he  oftens  renders  a  service 

[  264  ] 


The  Salesman's  Relation  to  Credits 


to  the  prospective  customer,  but  it  is  seldom  appiv- 
ciate«l.  Now  and  tlicn  a  uiercliant  is  wise  enough 
to  take  advjintage  of  the  candid  opinion  of  an  out- 
sider and  curtail  rather  than  increase  his  liabilities. 
Usually  he  is  not. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  credit  man,  by  extending 
credit,  often  puts  heart  into  a  struggling  man  and 
makes  his  success  certain.  A  mark  of  confidence 
from  one  whose  judgment  is  considered  good  is 
enough  to  strengtiicn  a  merchant's  belief  in  him- 
self, shaken,  perhaps,  by  unexiJecled  experiences. 

>Vhen  you  are  tempted  to  inwardly  curse  the 
credit  man  for  "  sitting  on  orders, "  try  to  figure  out, 
if  you  can,  that  you  have  no  one  but  yourself  to  blame 
for  your  disappointment.  Orders  "  hehl  up  "  in  the 
office  form  two  cla.sses  —  those  that  are  "N.  G.,'* 
and  tiiose  that  require  the  most  rigid  inspection.  The 
latter  frequently  receive  the  approval  of  the  credit 
man  and  arc  "  passed  out "  as  soon  as  he  is  satisfied 
from  all  {K)ints  of  the  compass  that  no  real  risk  is 
involved.  The  delay  in  shipment  often  rests  with 
the  salesman  for  not  having  furnished  a  correct  state- 
ment with  the  order.  Remember,  the  credit  man 
must  make  no  mistakes.  There  is  no  department  of 
the  establishment  where  a  blunder  may  prove  so 
costly.  He  must  not  reject  a  aod  customer  or 
approve  a  bad  one.  He  must  use  tact  in  ascertain- 
ing the  tnith  and  in  stating  it.     Tiic  futiire  ot  the 

[  s2t>>  I 


t 

i 
I  I 


F     t 


I 

i^ 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

house  rests  on  his  wisdom  auU  ci)uragi'.  A  credit 
man  can  no  more  make  mistakes  without  discover)- 
than  a  train  despatcher  can.  He  cannot  begin  over 
again  Uke  a  salesman  or  buyer;  he  must  do  perfect 
work  everj'  time.  He  cannot  sink  his  personaUty  in 
mechanical  performance  of  dnty;  his  personality  is 
an  essential  part  of  his  equipment  for  work. 

The  science  of  crtnlits  is  not  an  exact  one,  and 
not  one  to  wliich  the  same  rules  arc  applicable  at  all 
times  and  for  all  lines  of  business.     The  endeavor  of 
the  credit  man  is  to  keep  his  losses  as  near  the  zero 
point  as  possible  without  limiting  sales.     There  are 
many  things  he  nmst  know,  to  guide  the  ship  of 
commerce  ^vith  which  he  is  intrusted,  such  as  the 
conditioa  of  a  territory  as  regards  money  when  a 
comparatively  smrJl  area  may  be  experiencing  busi- 
ness depression  because  of  continue<l  bad  weather, 
extension  of  a  new  railroad  cutting  off  trade,  crop 
failure,  or  similar  causes,  while  other  territory  in  the 
same  locality  is  enjopng  phenomenal  prosperity;  he 
must  be  Informed  as  to  the  cost  of  production,  amount 
of  stock  on  hand,  and  in  fact  all  the  operative  details 
of  his  own  business,  to  enable  him  to  judge  wisely  in 
putting  out  goods.     He  is  obliged  to  have  access  to 
many  sources  of  information.     What  a  great  help 
it  is  to  the  credit  man  to  know  lie  can  rely  ahsolutelii 
upon  the  trustworthiness  of  his  salesnun I 

The  cretlit  man's  position  is  the  most  responsible 
[  2(M5  ] 


^ 


The  Salesman's  Relation  to  Credits 

of  all  in  the  establishmeut.  Like  a  woman's  work, 
it  is  never  done.  He  is  first  at  his  desk  in  the  morn- 
ing and  the  last  to  leave  at  night.  Don't  add  to  his 
cares  by  being  churlish  in  fancying  you  are  not  get- 
ting a  square  deal  when  your  onlers  are  occasionally 
delayed,  or  ruled  out  altogether.  In  his  every  action 
the  best  interests  of  the  house  receive  his  first  consid- 
eration. If  it  were  otherwise,  how  long  could  it  con- 
tinue to  pay  you  your  salary  ?  Too  often  is  criticism 
of  the  credit  department  indulged  in,  because  of  the 
salesman's  tlesire  to  increase  his  sales  at  any  risk. 

In  judging  a  basis  for  credit  on  short  notice, 
when  selling  to  a  customer  for  the  first  time,  the 
salesman  is  obliged  to  act  (juickly.  His  time  with 
his  customer  is  necessarily  limited.  He  sells  a  bill 
and  is  on  his  way  to  the  next  town.  The  habit  of 
observation,  alertness,  most  of  all  his  powers  of  per- 
ception are  the  qualities  which  nmst  determine  the 
worth  of  a  new  man.  The  ledger  will  find  him  out 
in  the  long  run  —  that  is  not  difficult ;  the  thing  is  to 
do  so  on  the  spot  l)y  common  instinct. 

It  is  the  place  of  the  credit  man,  and  not  of  the 
salesman,  to  ask  direct  questions,  for  the  attempt  to 
investigate  a  customer's  affairs  by  that  method  is 
offensive,  and  nearly  always  resented.  It  is  a  barrier 
to  sales-making.  Intuition  is  the  only  safeguard 
with  wliich  to  take  the  measure  of  the  trustworthi- 
ness of  a  man  on  first  approach. 

[  2<!7  J 


Jf 


'l*  I 


4 


!i  I 


i 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

It  is  not  easy  to  sell  goods  to  a  hard-hemied 
dealer  who  discounts  all  his  bills.    The  man  to 
look  out  for  is  the  one  who  places  his  orders  with  a 
lavish  hand,  indicating  his  belief  that  a  wholesale 
retirement  of  manufacturers  and  jobbers  is  immi- 
nent.   Such  a  buyer  leaves  usually  ^-ithout  even  so 
much  as  asking  your  terms.     The  wary  salesman  is 
always  suspicious  of  the  man  to  whom  he  can  sell 
without  an  effort.     A  reckless  buyer  invites  failure 
from  the  start.     It  is  only  a  question  of  how  long  the 
bank  can   stand  the  run  before  his  creditors  are 
notified  that  a  .smash-up  is  ine\ntable. 

The  general  a[)pearance  of  a  merchant's  store 
or  office  is  a  pretty  sure  indicator  of  his  moral  and 
financial   standing.     Any  evidence   of  waste,   lack 
of  system,  or  bad  management  should  not  be  over- 
looked.    A  slovenly  kept  store  goes  hand  in  hand 
with    inefficient    office    management.     Haphazard 
bookkeeping  has  ruined  many  a  small  merchant. 
It   is    the   commcm    experience   of   n^ost   salesmen 
frequently  to  encounter  dealers  who  do  not  know 
the  cost  of  things  and  cannot  tell  from  year  to  year 
whether  they  are  making  a  profit  or  a  loss.     Their 
collections  are  no  better  than  their  payments. 

Sice'  dear  of  the  man  who  spend.i  money  tJmt 
belongs  to  his  hvMness.    The  high-liver,  however 
prosperous  he  may  appear,  is  a  menace  to  credit. 
It  is  a  ,?!'a<l  thing  for  the  salesman  to  realize 
[  208  ] 


i 


Tlie  Salesman's  Relation  to  Credits 

that  every  time  his  house  extends  a  line  of  credit 
to  the  financially  low-water  merchant,  it  is  doing 
him  a  far  better  business  turn  than  his  local  bank 
in  loaning  him  a  few  hundred  dollars. 

With  a  cash  payment  of  five  hundred  dollars  a 
dealer  obtains  a  thousand  dollars'  wortli  of  goods 
from  his  wholesaler,  and  returns  home  without  funds 
for   his   current   expenses.     With   the   credit   thus 
obtained  he  secures  from  his  bank  a  few  hundred 
dollars,  for  which  he  gives  his  note  secured  by  goods 
in  liis  store  as  collateral.     The  wholesaler  takes  no 
note,  is  not  secured  in  any  way.     Credit  is  extended 
on  confidence.     That  is  a  thing  the  salesman  should 
know  and  impress  upon  his  trade  whrn  occasion 
demands.     Confidence  is  the  common  law  of  barter 
and  selling  with  tlie  wholesaler.     fVinfidonce  has 
built  up  the  grent  credit  system  that  rules  the  com- 
mercial world.     Confidence  makes  it  possible  for  the 
merchant  with  small  capital  to  do  business  and  pros- 
{)er  ii  he  is  honest  and  hard-working.     Therefore,  his 
obUgation  with  liis  dealer  should  be  safeguarded  as 
religion  Jy  fi:  his  obligation  with  his  banker.     But 
too  cften  this  is  not  the  case.     The  note  at  the  bank 
is  promptly  met  because  of  a  wholesome  fear  of 
banking  methods.     If  there  is  not  enough  to   go 
around  when  pay-day  arrives,  the  wholesaler  is  put 
off  with  excuses  and  a  plea  for  an  extension. 

Customers  are  not  always  grateful  for  financial 
[  269  i 


t  ■! 


*Mi^^.^'*'jSSK^'::- 


m 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

favors.  They  seem  to  forget  easily,  and  are  often 
touchy  on  the  subject.  After  a  long  up-hiU  run, 
during  which  they  are  assisted  again  and  again, 
finally  coming  out  in  the  clearing,  with  a  little 
surplus  in  the  bank  and  the  last  payment  made, 
they  draw  a  self-satisfied  breath  and  say,  "There 
now,  I  've  got  you  paid  up.     I  can  do  as  I  please." 

It 's  a  great  thing  to  be  free  from  the  bondage  of 
debt,  and  a  greater  thing  to  remember  with  gratitude 
the  helping  hand  that  made  deliverance  possible 
It  is  the  salesman's  duty  deftly  but  firmly  to  persuade 
customers  like  this  to  appreciate  and  recognize  their 

obligation. 

I  remember  a  customer  who  had  been  "  earned 
over"  from  year  to  year  by  the  house  that  gave  me 
ray  start  on  the  roa«f.     The  firm  went  out  of  its  way 
on  many  an  occasion  to  help  him  to  make  good 
when  no  other  house  in  the  country  would  trust 
him  for  a  dollar.     He  was  always  treated   right, 
recei\ing  all  the  advantages  that  the  best  customer 
on  the  books  enjoyed.     Hi.s  business  finally  grew 
to  a  point  where  he  was  obli;red  to  have  more  goods 
than  his  line  ot  credit  with  us  would  permit.     Realiz- 
ing that  his  need  was  urgent  if  his  creditors'  flemands 
were  to  be  met,  I  volunteered  to  set  him  right  with 
a  travelling  acquamtance  from  a  neighboring  house 
The  other  traveller  acce;>ted  my  statement  of  his 
condition,  an<l  on  his  first  visit  sold  hi.  ^  quite  o 

[«70] 


''  WBrnMi^z^Cm'^: 


TJie  Salesman's  Relation  to  Credits 

large  bill.  lie  kept  increasing  his  purchases  with  the 
new  house  and  likewise  his  payments,  neglecting  our 
house  ou  both,  naturally  feeling  that  the  new  house 
should  be  paid  promptly.  As  our  payments  grew 
smaller,  he  concluded  that  he  would  better  place  the 
burden  of  his  V)usincs:-,  where  his  remittances  were  sent. 
His  business  continued  to  grow,  and  by  the  time  he 
had  wormed  himself  free  from  our  debt  his  purchas- 
ing power  had  increased  one  hundred  per  cent.  Far- 
away houses  began  to  scent  his  prosperity,  which 
tickled  his  vanity.  Gradually  he  slipped  farther  and 
farther  away  from  the  house  that  had  faithfully  stood 
by  him  for  so  many  years  when  he  was  getting  a  start. 

One  day  a  dispute  arose  over  a  price;  his  pur- 
chases had  clwindled  down  to  practically  nothing; 
he  began  to  abuse  my  firm.  The  ire  in  my  soul  was 
now  thoroughly  aroused,  and  I  told  him  in  unvar- 
nished terms  what  I  thought  of  his  whole  conduct 
toward  us.  He  got  sulky,  but  was  too  much  ashamed 
to  reseut  the  flaying  he  received;  besides,  he  knew 
every  word  of  it  was  true. 

I  let  him  sulk  for  six  months,  then  called  again, 
greeting  him  as  though  nothing  had  happened.  He 
seemed  glad  to  see  me.  Cordially  extending  his 
hand,  he  said.  "  Don't  say  a  aord.  It  "s  all  right. 
I  deserved  what  T  got,  and  now  I  'ra  ready  to  stick 
to  the  old  firm."  And  he  kept  his  word,  becoming 
one  of  our  strongest  accounts. 


^71  ; 


■V 


'  ul 


.1. 


I 


LBT^.' 


li 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 


\\  I 


CHAI^ER  XX 

THE  SALESMAN'S  RELATION  TO  THE  BUYER 

"0,,^   for   all   and   all   for  one."   is   the 
vairlnrord  thai  causes  the  tntcrest.i  of  buyer 
and  .sellrr  to  qo  forward  arm  in  arm,  sup- 
l,o,'!nq    each   other,    as   they    shoxM    go. 

EVERY  salesman  who  h  .  '•  overcome  the  obstacles 
that  b.  set  his  path,  and  made  pood,  reaU/es 
the  weight  ..f  res,>onsibiUty  that  is  attached  to  the 
dailv  routine  of  his  work.  Heavy  as  the  load  ap- 
pears to  be  at  times,  it  is  as  notliing  when  compared 
to  the  thomv  road  every  bnyer  is  obliged  to  travel 
\n  his  efforts  at  selertins  only  the  best  sellers  rhe 
marts  of  t!ie  world  affr.rd. 

II(,w  to  pick  the  winners  i.;  as  jnuch  of  a  prob- 
lem to  most  buvers  as  the  operation  of  a  shell  game 
is  to  the  average  pub'-.  If  the  buyer's  foresight 
were  as  goo<l  as  his  hindsight,  al,  buyers  would 
soon  be  trv-ing  to  dodge  in.  pn.posra  lax  on  swollen 

fortuTH-s.  ,     u  I 

It  is  a  great  deal  easier  to  criticise  than  to  help. 
The  buyers  of  ^f)ur  house  can  get  along  without 
vour  criticism,  but  they  must  have  your  help.  Two 
or  three  disgruntld  >ales.;en  in  the  line-up  can 
turn  enough  others  against  a  line  of  merchandise  to 
swamp  tlie  best  buv.r  on  eailh  in  less  t:  ■     than  it 

[  l-ii  ] 


The  Salesman's  Relation  to  the  Buyer 

takes  to  write  it.  The  salesraen  of  a  house  can  m»ke 
or  break  a  buyer  at  will.  Nearly  all  salesnien  Uve  in 
glass  houses  when  it  comes  to  puncturing  the  yais- 
takes  of  the  buyer  with  barbed  arrows  of  criticism. 
It  is  discouraging  for  the  salesman  to  be  obliged  to 
have  to  make  good  the  buyer's  mistakes  on  the  road; 
but  the  true  salesmen,  the  really  big  men  in  the 
profession,  are  those  who  have  long  since  learned 
that  lo  be  free  is  to  have  power  to  overcome  all 

obstacles. 

There  should  be  no  cause  for  discouragement 
because  of  an  occasional  error  in  judgment  on  the 
part  of  the  buyers.  There  are  enough  good  sellers 
left  in  the  line  to  insure  a  substantial  increase  in 
your  sales,  if  you  will  devote  some  of  the  time  to 
finding  them  that  is  spent  in  trying  to  i>ersuadc  other 
salesmen  that  the  buyers  who  do  not  come  up  to 
your  standard  of  fitness  should  be  operating  peanut 

stands. 

It's  a  great  thing  for  the  salesman  to  be  optimistic 
about  the  goods  lie  has  to  sell;  to  take  a  chtcrjul  cicw 
of  the  buyers  ahUitij.  The  salesman  with  a  cheerful 
^^ew  will  grow  and  succeed  with  the  poorest  sort  of 
backing  — that  is  where  personality  comes  in;  u 
gloomy,  discouraged  man  can  never  hoi)c  to  be 
anything  but  a  trailer.  An  opportunity  to  buy 
United  States  Government  bonds  bearing  interest 
al  ten  per  cent,  or  Bank  of  i:uglHnd  stock  at  fifty 


li 


M>  I 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 
cents  on  the  dollar,  would  have  no  rose-colored  hue 

for  him. 

Gloom  depresses  the  heart  and  wciikens  the 

salesman's  selling-talk. 

We  learn  to  do  by  doing  —  not  by  complaining. 
Make  the  best  of  things,  and  see  how  clear  a  path  is 
the  road  that  leads  to  success. 

Lucky  is  the  salesman  who  can  put  his  little 
individuality  on  the  sido  of  that  big  giant  Progress, 
and  do  his 'share  to  pull  in  the  right  direction,  and 
hel^)  to  take  away  from  others  the  stupidity  that 
clings  so  desjierately  to  those  who  believe  in  the 
sui^riority  of  their  own  knowledge  of  how  things 
should  be  done,  as  measured  against  that  of  those 
whom  lliey  are  serving. 

Tu  save  myself  from  being  misunderstood,  I 
feel  tallcc'  upon  every  little  while  to  cxi)lain  that 
"Men  AMio  Sell  Things'"  is  written  for  negative 
salesmen,  not  positive  ones 

Speaking  of  positive  suhsmen,  Billy  Morris 
came  m  to  sell  my  partner  hats  one  <lay  After 
a  voluble  talk  —  it  was  a  wanii  day  —  Billy  took 
off  his  coat  and  began  all  over  again.  My  partner 
knew  that  Billy  was  up  against  it  with  a  poor  line, 
but  he  was  a  great  admirer  of  men  who  possess 
eontagious  enthusiasm,  and  he  gave  him  the  priN-i- 
lege  of  showing  a  few  samples. 

Billv  knew  that  it  was  n')t  a  very  good  line  that 


:  V'- 


The  Salesiiuni's  Relatimi  to  the  Buyer 

he  had,  but  li<:  singled  out  one  hut  and  waxed  waruJ 
with  enthusiasm,  saying,  "  I  positively  want  to  tell 

you,  Mr.    M ,  this  is,  without  exception,  the 

best  hat  in  the  world." 

"  Do  you  mean  that,  Billy,—  the  best  hat  in 
the  world.'"  asked  my  partner. 

Quicker  than  a  flash  he  came  buck  with,  "Yes, 
the  best  hat  in  the  world." 

Billy  dwelt  on  the  beauties  of  that  hat  so  much, 
repeating  that  it  was  "  the  best  hat  in  the  world," 
barring  none,  that  my  partner  bought  a  bill  of  him. 
For  years  after  that,  through  his  having  made 
such  a  strong  assertion,  we  remembered  him  alwa}s 
as  *'  the  man  with  the  l)est  hat  in  the  world,"  and  he 
got  an  order  pretty  nearly  every  time  he  came 
urouud  through  liis  having  made  a  hit  with  his 
sui^erlative. 

Billy  used  to  l)e  familiarly  known  to  those  in  the 
trade  who  had  salesrooms  in  the  vicinity  in  which 
he  was  lo.ated  in  New  York,  in  congested  Lower 
Broadway. 

He  would  approach  a  customer  entering  his 
salesroom,  and  walk  him  iip  to  his  display,  and 
dilate  on  the  beauties  of  his  hat-  with  great  force  and 
posiliveness.  If  he  succeeded  in  making  a  sale,  he 
would  come  out  rubbing  his  hands,  his  face  clothed 
in  smiles,  and  say,  "  Well,  there 's  a  gootl  merchant." 
If  things  went  the  other  way  after  he  had  soured  to 


*  ■*. 


! 


ill 


■i' 


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I.I 


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If  m 

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I:  m 

t  1^ 


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2.2 

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•r| 


( I 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

the  highest  enthusiasm,  and  he  failed  to  land  his 
man  for  a  bill  he  ^vould  come  out  and  tell  the  boys 
^v^th  a  very  solemn  face,  "That  buyer  can't  last. 
He  don't  know  good  valuer  when  he  sees  them." 
Billy  is  still  travelling;  and  prosperous.  He 
owns  a  partnership  in  tlie  business  he  helped  to 
build  up  by  his  imboundcd  faith  in  his  line,  and 
has  money  from  his  income  to  speculate  in  New 

York  real  estate. 

A  poor  workman  always  finds  jaull  with  hs 
tools,  and  a  poor  .salesman  always  finds  fault  with 
his  goods.  He  may  have  the  most  salable  line  to  be 
found  anywhere,  but  that  is  generally  a  small  part 
of  what  he  has  to  sell.  His  strong  line  is  excuses, 
travelling  to  get  ahead  of  some  competitor,  or 
cutting  the  price.  Billy  IMorris  sold  goods  because 
he  believed  in  what  he  had  to  sell.  K  secretly  he 
had  admitted  that  his  goods  were  poor,  he  could  not 
publicly  have  impressed  his  customers  with  their 
merchantable  value. 

The  man  who  knows,  or  thinks  he  knows,  that 
his  line  is  not  up  to  that  of  his  competitor,  begins 
by  doing  aU  manner  of  things  not  calculated  to  add 
to  his  efficiency,  things  in  keeping  with  his  lack  of 
confidence.  He  is  a  ne-ative  salesman,  imbued 
with  the  idea  that  he  must  in  some  manner  over- 
come the  fancied  weaknesses  of  the  buyers. 

For  a  time  his  sole  object  in  life  seems  to  be  to 


The  Salesman's  Rclaiion  to  the  Buyer 

try  to  Ijc  ahead  of  his  comrctilors.  MroliuK  you 
in  the  lobby  of  some  hotel,  he  will  ask,  "  Have 
you  seen  Jones  yet  ? "  Upon  rcceinng  a  negative 
answer,  he  continues  with,  "  I  cleaned  up  ^vith  him 

all  right.     1  was  in  X ahead  of  him,  and  I  have 

been  two  days  ahead  of  him  all  the  way  around." 

lie  seems  delighted  and  .satisfie<l  lo  be  two  days 
ahead  of  the  other  man,  when  it  <(mld  bo  shown  in 
numerous  instances  that  his  bugaboo,  Jones,  while 
folh.wing  behind  him,  was  selling  anywhere  from 
two  to  four  times  as  much  goods  with  a  poorer  lino 
of  merchandise,  simply  because  he  was  out  to  sell 
merchandise,  while  our  weak-kneed  friend  was  out 
to  make  towns  ahead  of  his  competitors,  in  the  blind 
ho]>e  of  covering  the  supposed  errors  in  judgment  of 
the  buyers  of  his  lino. 

Never  quite  sure  of  his  goods,  we  find  him  again 
in  the  role  of  " starter'"—  the  salesman  that  is  always 
selling  some  article  below  cost  for  a  bill-starter. 
About  threo-<|Uarters  of  his  business  is  done  on  bill- 
starters,  without  lirofit.  He  always  has  the  bright- 
est possible  prospects  on  paper,  but  they  never  ma- 
terialize. Cornered  by  the  sales  manager  for  cutting 
the  price,  he  will  begin  by  excusing  his  action  on  the 
ground  that  the  goods  were  not  right,  or  that  the 
house  arouml  the  corner  had  the  sa.    ■  thing  at  a 

closer  price. 

Another  idea  that  he  possesses  is  that  one  new 
[  ^77  ] 


^11 
I 


'f  fc  > 


ni 


I 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 

account  looks  better  to  him  than  twice  the  amount 
.M)U1  to  his  regular  customers. 

n(<  is  always  chasing  new  scenery,  and  ginng 
Jones  plenty  <.f  room  to  take  his  old  trade  away 
because  of  his  instability. 

He  seems  willing  enough  to  open  his  goods  if  a 
customer  will  look  at  Iheii;  which  reminds  me  of  a 
friend  who  said  that  when  lu-  was  a  boy  he  used  to 
call  frcfjuently  in  company  with  neighboring  boys  on 
a  ladv  who  lived  close  by.  She  would  tantalize  the 
boys  by  telling  what  lovely  cake  she  had  in  the  pan- 
tn%  and  she  would  get  each  of  them  a  piece  if  they 
cared  for  any.  Being  well-bred  boys,  they  always 
refused,  until  one  day  they  broke  her  heart  by  saying 
in  choms  that  they  would  have  a  piece. 

The  man  who  never  thinks  his  goods  arc  right  is 
easily  led  into  argunvnts  with  his  trade.  T  once 
had  such  a  salesman.  His  prices  and  styles  were 
never  right,  and  apparently  he  would  rather  get  into 
an  argument  than  sell  goods. 

One  day  he  got  into  an  argument  with  a  cus- 
tomer who  was  an  ardent  Romanist,  and  in  place  of 
.selling  the  man  merchandise,  began  to  argue  that 
there  was  no  such  place  as  Purgatory  In  the  midst 
of  the  argument,  a  young  Irish  priest  came  in,  and 
the  merchant  said,  "Father  Reilly,  what  do  you 
think  of  this  man,  who  argues  there  is  no  such  place 

as  Purgatory?" 

[278] 


IVie  Salesman's  Rilation  to  the  Buyer 

Falher  Reilly  answered,  "  Lot  hiiii  go  to  Hell, 
then."  The  salesman  who  is  continually  entleav- 
orin-;  to  defend  his  right  of  position  and  parading 
the  errors  of  the  other  fellow  by  arguing  is  beyond 
redemption. 

Brii.g  yourself  to  the  j)oint  where  you  believe 
there  are  no  buyers  in  the  business  like  the  buyers 
ill  vour  house,  and  you  will  soon  forget  that  your 
competitors  Uve  in  the  same  block. 

^\^lile  no  move  of  the  competitor  shouUl  be 
overlooked,  it  is  also  well  not  to  lose  nuich  time 
keeping  an  eye  on  him.  He  will  perceive  your 
eagerness,  and  will  certainly  mi^^'ead  you. 

That  is  natural,  but  don't  lose  sight  of  him;  at 
the  same  time  do  not  follow  or  watch  all  his  moves 
for  fear  of  losing  a  customer  or  a  sale  now  and  then. 
If  you  allow  your  competition  to  get  on  your  nerves, 
the  shrewdest  of  buyers  and  the  most  seductive  of 
prices  will  fail  to  look  attractive  to  you. 

Let  the  buyers  take  care  of  themselves.  Your 
business  is  not  buying,  but  selling. 

Establish  an  individuality  and  a  good  repvta- 
tion,  and  live  vp  to  them  and  not  upon  them,  and 
success  is  likely  to  abide  with  you. 

If  you  are  going  to  ge.  rattied  or  flustered  at 
some  scn.'nlional  move  of  a  competitor,  he  will  play 
upon  your  weak  spot,  and  you  will  be  apt  to  f-nil 
yourself  spending  your  energy  at  random. 

[  279  ] 


^  ' 


l»  { 


Men   jr/io  Sell  Thin^.s 

Drive  the  nail  lioim-,  and  get  a  rcpvtuliou  fur 
doing  so,  and  even-  one  v>'\\  come  to  know  by  the 
appearance  of  the  work  that  you  did  it,  because  your 
individuality  is  stamped  upon  it.  Between  taps, 
of  course,  you  might  glance  from  the  corner  of  your 
eye  at  your  competitor's  strokes;  but  make  up  your 
mind  first,  last,  and  all  the  time  that  you  are  not 
selling  your  competitor's  goods,  that  the  goods  of 
vour  house  are  good  goods,  and  that  you  can  sell 

them. 

And  you  will  sell  them. 

Time  and  thought  taken  in  complaining  of  com- 
petition is  useless  expenditure  of  energy.  It  lessens 
your  capacity  fo.  che  accompUshment  of  things  for 
which  you  were  employed. 

The  worst  competi  ion  is  that  of  the  inefficient 
man  of  poor  ability. 

If  you  are  a  good  salesman,  you  will  understand 
vour  advantages  over  such  men,  and  profit  by  them 
through  a  proper  relationship  to  the  buyers  of  the 
house  that  puts  its  signature  at  the  bottom  of  your 
monthly  salary  check. 


280] 


The  Sales  Manager 


CHAPIER  XXT 

Tin:     S  .LKS      VIA?   vGKR 

The  harklwj  vpum'tn<j  a.-i  a  hin/e  a>noiiuf. 
:mlcal  to  (k  vith  Iiix  s'/cfv.vv.  Don't  Id  a  wan 
jail  down.  I;  he  comcy  baric  dhconra(j>'d,  dis- 
hcartcnrd,  and  bhic,  viakc  him  uudcrKtand  he  %s 
doinij  a.^  veil  of  conhl  be  expected.  Envourmjc 
him  a, A  dimnlate  him  Mnih  ncucr  and  belter 
itea.1.  Thai  f?  tfte  so-nt  of  the  .^ales  man- 
ager's method    in    building  si»ree::.ijnl  salesmen. 

THE  sa\ir/(T  that  a  man  must  w<.rk  out  his  own 
salvation  as  a  salesman  is  good  as  far  as  it  pors, 
but  it  docs  not  go  far.     That  is  only  part  <if  the  pnt- 

gramnie. 

The  bos^  salesmen  any  hour-e  can  have  are 
the  salesmen  it  builds  for  itself.  The  old  saying, 
"Salesmen  are  born,  and  not  made,"'  is  .he  veriest 
kind  of  tommyrot  in  this  day  of  science  and  prog- 
ress. 

Naturalh ,  the  root  of  salesmansliip  nmst  be  in 
the  man  himself,  but  the  knowV'dgo  of  liow  to  de- 
velop that  root  into  a  plant  that  blos.soms  and  brings 
forth  fnnt  is  where  the  work  of  the  Sales  Manager 
comes  in. 

One  good  salesman  trained  and  developed  In 
this  way  is  worth  a  dozen  floi  ters  —  the  here-to- 
» lay-and-gone-to-morrow  class. 

[  281  1 


'*  WJL'- V.' 


i   < 


M 


-rj-  ■  '-"^iW^^^B 

K'  1 

■:    1 

»;,H 

-al 

.JfjU; 

2y£en   Who  Sell  Things 
When  a  shIcsiuum  gels  ready  to  hear,  he  is  Roing 

lo  he  profiled  hy  the  Sales  Manaj^er. 

^L  eau  t^ke  the  best  seed  in  the  -rUl  and 

scatter  it  about  and  h-ave  it  aU>ne,  but  there  wdl  be 
rip;  but  when  you  plough  the  ^^ih  puj  ■"  ^ 
seed.  an.l  harrow  it,  in  due  tinu-  ec.nes  ihe  har^cs  . 

So  vou  can  take  the  best  seed  from 
aries  of'salesniansliip  and  scatter  it  ab.' 
ground  of  men's  inteheet,  and  J-ou  nee.l  ^ 

tnv  return  from  it;  bul  if  yon  take  the  P-'.'--- 
of'ripened  jnd,Mnent  and  prepare  l»-  ^--";  ^;; 
harrow  it  over  .it h  failh,  patience,  and  encourage^ 
n,ent,  then  the  seed  falls  down  n.to  good  ground 
and  springs  up  and  bears  fnnt  in  tl,esale.n^.s<>- 

fifty,  '  on.e  sixty,  and  son.e  on.  hu.ulred  fold,  to  the 
success  of  that  house. 

It  is  just  as  neeessar.'  that  you  i>reparc  your 
mind  to  hear  as  it  is  to  prepare  your  grmuu  lor 
The  seed.  This  is  the  seed  of  sales.nanslnp  falhng 
upon  your  mind,  and  if  there  is  no  prepar.tu.n  for 
the  seed  there  will  be  uo  hardest.     Get  ready  to 

^^""^The  poorest  Sales  Manager  on  earth  talks 
enough  salesmanship  to  his  men  ever>-  month  to 
make  them  all  top-notehers.  when  there  .s  a  wdhng- 
r^ess  to  hear  on  the  part  of  the  salesmen. 

The  -reatest  bocm  to  the  sales  mterests  ot  an) 
house  is  a  game  Sales  Manager,  one  who  ts  never 

[282  1 


The  Sales  Manager 

afniid  of  tlu-  truth  an<l  vlio  knows  liow  to  um'  it  in 
(loalirif;  willi  mcir,  aiul  tin-  grcalcst  (lr.iwl>atk  is  the 
time-scTviii-,'  Salc^  Mana^a-r.  who  is  afraid  <>f  hurl- 
ing some  one's  feehnps  if  he  does  his  duty. 

N(..-,  if  takes  two  things  '■  iiake  an  efficient 
saU's  department  —  a  good  Sales  Manager  and  a 
good  hearer;  and  whtn  you  get  a  go<ui  Sahvs  Man- 
ager and  a  good  hearer  together,  then  you  are  going 
to  have  a  first-(hiss  sahs  force. 

WvW,  if  a  Sah's  Manager,  hacke<l  hy  the  very 
experienc<'  that  you  must  encounter  in  onh-r  to  !)e- 
<'onic  successful,  must  also  think  and  plan  continual- 
ly in  order  to  get  ready  to  jirepare  the  groun  for 
the  seed,  what  must  you  <lo  to  get  ready  to  hear? 

Be  not  a  forgetful  licarer,  hut  a  doer  of  the 
work. 

//  you  iraiit  io  hr  f urn:  fid  in  iionr  irork;  get 
rrndy  to  hear. 

How  will  you  get  ready  to  hear? 

By  thinking  and  planning  and  wiHingnes.s. 
Just  precisely  as  the  Sales  Manager  gets  ready  to 
help  you,  you  ought  to  get  ready  to  hear. 

The  standards  of  two  salesmen  may  differ. 
Not  because  one  is  more  capable  than  the  other,  but 
because  one  has  a  willii  ness  and  a  desire  to  do  big 
things,  and  the  other  has  not.  The  man  of  large 
concepti<»is  once  worked  in  narrow  channels,  but 
when  he  saw  a  wider  view  of  what  his  work  might 

[  28:?  1 


Men    Who  Sell   Things 


W-i 


I  i 


I,,  Ik  en.l>ra.  C-.1  tl.r  ..i.,.ortnmt.v  K.  lH<«mu-  a  Ingg.r 
,nun  It  i>  just  about  as  cany  to  think  of  a  twcnty- 
slory  J.uiia:.,;  as  it  is  of  a  one-story  buiUlm.,  when 
von  turn  vour  mind  to  contomi.lat.n^'  '»• 

Maki'>  it  vour  business  to  know  what  .s  the  best 
,„„t  n.i^ht  b;  in  .aU->n.n,.shii.  for  you,  an,l  streleh 
vourn.inatoeoneeiveit.a...ti.cn.lev.seson.e.a 

,,  ,,»,,.  it.     Kee,,  in  close  touch  w.th  the  head  o 
vour  saU-s  <h.,>artnu.nt.  but  U-t  him  a.v.se  you. 

;vilHn,ness   on    your  part  to  sc.k  ami  make  <.c^ 

possible  use  of  his  .-ounsel  an<l  expenen.-e  ..11  a.d 

you  materiallv  in  your  purpose. 

■         \„  evil  iiabit  mav  be  fostered  in  a  sales  or^am- 

.ationasinanindi;idual,-thehabitofind.ffer- 

,nee.   of  shirkinj,N   of   misehief-n.akiuK,   the  ehque 
,,,Uit,  and  a  thousand  ills  of  a  ne.at.ve  ku.  ,  no 
the  least  of  which  is  the  habit  of  hndmir  lault  w.th 

superiors.  ,      .^, 

Son.etin.es  the  trouble  n.ay  have  siar Cd  wuh 
one  ^vron-headed  man  or  one  restless  n.alcontent, 
and  have  spread  and  fastened  upon  the  busu.ess 
until  the  evil  is  perpetuated  and  infects  every  new- 

comer.  ,  .  ,    f^_ 

The  Sales  Manager  must  not  only  wa  ch  tor 

the  development  of  any  wrong  tendency  and  check 

.     .   •  1    *  ,.-if  Inlmr  «lirectlv  to  mcul- 

it  in  its  incipiency,  but  iM.t  laDor  cJireci  y 

cate  right  tendencies,  high  ideals,  cheerfulness,  and 


The  Sa/f.s  Manager 

KvtTV  outwunl  txj)n>si«)ii  «»f  a  l)U>iiie>s  is  a 
reflfdion  of  something  within,  and  any  .salfs  force 
must  pt  t  rigiit  with  itself  before  it  can  ho|)o  t<.  Ik> 
ri«,'ht  and  work  in  harmony  with  the  other  l.ran«hes 
of  the  business  and  with  the  outsi<h«  world. 

Business  houses  eniployiiif;  luaiiy  salesmen  may 
well  tremble  to  think  of  the  good  or  bad  iiiipresMons 
being  iontiimally  uuiltiplied  and  sent  oiil  from  their 
sales  departments.  Proprietors  may  be  totally  un 
a((|uainted  with  that  intangible  but  poten  thing,  the 
.spirit  of  their  .sales  force.  They  are  not  likel,\  to 
.see  it  as  it  impresses  outs*  lers;  or  they  may  realize 
that  it  is  wrong,  and  feel  helple.ss  to  change  it. 

The  necessity  for  h  specitic  organization  of  s  lies 
departi-.ents  im  large  institutions,  giving  tiie  sole 
direction  to  a  nuuiaging  head,  is  responsible  /or  the 
creation  of  the  ])Osition  of  Sales  Manager. 

Primardy.  the  position  of  the  Sales  Manager  is 
to  stimulate  enthusiastic  devotiim  of  all  to  the  com- 
mon cause.  That  is  the  thing  which  spells  success. 
The  contagious  enthusiasm  of  a  real  h-adcr  of  sales- 
men culminates  when  it  is  connnunicated  to  all  the 
members  of  the  sales  force.  It  has  then  produced 
an  army  of  doers. 

The  power  to  persuade  others  is,  perhaps,  the 
greatest  faculty  in  salesmanship,  just  as  the  power 
to  inspire  others  is  the  greatest  faculty  in  successful 
leadership,  and  is  the  o"c  thing  to  which  the  Sales 

I  '2H'>  ] 


h9  ■'*, 


Men   ll'li"  !•><■"  '^''''W 
Man^ter  devote    l.is   u,„livi<l..l   a.lcnli.m    in   -lu- 

abili'vtoinsinu  loyaltN.      1  la  nam  . 

W  s*,n,a„  who  -.„sia,Ts  , ."■  I."t  I""-- ',; 

,vl,„i,r,,ntinualK  -vin«.MVl..r..,:o  I. ■.>"«•"- ■ 
,,„,  „  ncaliv  influonc,-  ,.n  any  salc-s  ap^m-sal  .  n, 
,,    h    ,MlK.M.m..     \V1 :..sn,an.ann.      ..■ 
i„,s..lt  a,n,  Lis  -■  a  ».."ar.  .1..,.      U-    ..■■^  • 

:Llu^-o„.inu,.sinap,.si>ln„.t,a.ta«.onfi.l.- 

,n  the  msliluli.m  and  tlK-  nien  nl  Un'  h™.   ..f  I. 

Even-  salesman  ha,  an  influence  ,n.her  l..|-  «  >■  1 
„r  l,a,l.  If  he  .anno,  have  a  ,.■■  d  inflnen.e  he  ha. 
no  rij-ht  to  have  a  liad  one. 


^ 


[^JSKl 


I-'  5 


Getting  an  Ir  'crest  in  the  l^u.sineas 


CHAPTER   XXII 

GETTIN(;    AN    IMKRHSP    IN    THi:    lUSINKSJ^ 

Xcirr  lot)!,-  hiliiiid  iihcn  rniniiiKj  a  rncr,  iitilrss 
ifou  ■'Hit  to  Iti.ir  It  A'  /)  i/oiir  ci/c  on  the  finixh; 
you    run    mnke    ij         cxirtions    rinut    for    more. 

KV.V.V  vour  «>v,.  on  the  finisli. 
Kverv  '-I'm  wlio  soils  thing's  sliouM  i)t'  workiuj^ 
foi       unpoi-f. 

V>'hat  is  t'.io  ^it■■^iR•  of  your  heart  and  soul  as  a 
.salesman  .'  What  is  it  that  hinds  you  down  to  years 
of  tireless  effort  r 

It  is  to  succeed  mi  tin-    "nd.     Am  I  not  ri<;ht  ? 

You  hope  tdtimati'ly  to  s»'(ur'>  an  interest  in  the 
business.  Your  iloniinant  aspiration  is  to  have  a 
partnership  in  the  business  which  you  have  helped 
to  build.     Is  it  not  so.^ 

The  »»n.y  way  that  that  hope  can  ever  be  realized 
is  by  the  princij)les  of  right  salesmanship.  There  is 
no  room  in  the  stockholders'  meeting;  or  at  the  <lirec- 
tors'  board  for  negative  saksnu-n. 

liy  !  hat  I  do  not  n.v  an  to  say  that  all  right  sales- 
men eventually  become  employers.  Good  men,  aye, 
first-class  men,  are  to  be  found  in  ever}*  institution, 
who,  for  various  reasons,  do  not  seem  to  bend  their 
energie.s  in  the  direction  of  a  partnership  in  the  busi- 
ness;  but  for  those  who  desire  in  the  end  to  have  a 

[  iH~  1 


m'-im-M^ 


..;>:_.,.ci^^i 


J- 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 
voiM  m  the  uianagement  througli  personal  tovest- 
:  n    t  c     be  obtafned  ■„  no ..  '.er  way  than  Ihrongh 
bherenl  quality  of  character  in  salesmanship. 

pl'  an/prestige  lie  in  positive  and  h.g% 
developed  qualities  of  salesmanship,  not  m  negative 

ones.  ... 

Suecesstul  men  are  men  ot  quality. 

Wlhout  cuivoeation  I  .uigM  say  that    ate 
,«„  lie  rfo».r  (o  ,l,e  luarl.  of  ,.™pn*r,  ««-.  »»;, 

"'%rl3r-i..vitea.oaplac.entithng 

,„n  tlare  in  tlii  profit,  what  a  mighty  r,— 
he  uhole  field  of  salesmanship  becomes!  A  glance 
b'  ^i  he  scenes  is  sufficient  to  change  your  ™ws 
elpletelv.  Getting  an  interest  in  the  busine^ - 
ttat  is  what  opens  the  eyes  of  a  salesman  at  las  to 
*:l  Ihings  that  wc.  difficult  for  Inm  ^  undei- 
,tand  when  ser^-ing  as  a  private  in  «-.->-■ 

The  head  salesman  in  the  house  ot  'b'*  1  «^» 
a  senior  partner  was  a  man  ot  exccpt.ond  abdity  in 
man"   th  ngs,  but  he  was  generally  to  be  found  on 
Te  Ifeus  V    where  the  poUcy  ot  the  house  wa.,  a 
mitlcr  ot  question  between  the  management  and  the 
:^oJ.    Finally,  opportunity  was  presented  him 
o  take  a  mo.icvcd  interest  in  the  business.    H^ 
certificates  ot  stock  had  scarcely  been  transferred 
Td  duly  recorded  when  he  wanted  to  s.ar.  reform 
measures  on  the  other  salesmen. 


r  ^^mi'^.i^2!i^^a^*r-^m 


Getting  an  Interest  in  the  Bminess 

There  is  a  certain  code  of  ethics  in  every  estab- 
lishment governing  salesmanship  from  the  viewpoint 
of  the  house,  and  quite  a  different  code  from  the 
viewpoint  of  the  salesman. 

Having  worked  my  way  from  stock-boy  to  sales- 
man, from  salesman  to  buyer,  from  buyer  to  sales 
manager,  and  from  sales  manager  to  employer,  1  am 
prepared  to  say,  without  qualifying  the  staten  ml, 
that  the  average  employer's  conceptioii  of  true  sales- 
manship is  the  correct  form  for  any  salesman  to 
aspire  to;  and  getting  an  interest  in  the  business  will 
confirm  it  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt. 

Almost  without  exception,  the  histories  of  great 
business  establishments  reveal  the  truth  of  the  asser- 
tion that  the  executive  heads  —  the  proprietors  — 
were  once  salesmen.  You  have  only  to  look  to  the 
past  of  the  men  at  the  head  of  llic  house  whose 
goods  you  are  selling  to  verify  this  statement. 

Take  cases  like  the  Field  establishment  in 
Chicago,  the  greatest  business  house  in  the  world. 
Marshall  Field  was  himself  a  salesman;  and  that  is 
also  true  of  many  of  his  partners  and  most  of  the 
anv.y  of  the  Field  managers. 

Fnid,  if  you  can,  one  of  the  great  manufac- 
tories or  mercantile  establishments,  either  wholesale 
or  retail  in  any  line,  the  world  over  —  concerns 
that  have  emblazoned  their  names  and  trade-marks 
around  the  circuit  of  the  globe  — and  find  one,  if  you 

[289] 


:^^m'< 


3Im  Who  Sell  Things 
can    th.l  w.,  not  established  and  protnoted  to 
^rtness  by  nu .  who  had  once  npon  a  time  m 
Te    bu sini  eareers  sold  things.    What  is  tme  of 
MaLw    Field   is  true   of   other   merchanU  and 

m^tfUrers.  great  or  sn.aU.  "> -^hUultfa 

When  a  salesman  has  ground  out  h.s  task  for 
ceJn  number  of  days,  months,  and  yean,  he  bepns 
totr  himself  where  he  is  going,  what  he  .s  do,„g. 
and  —  why  he  is  doing  it.  _ 

Young  salesmen  begin  with  enthusiasm,  and 
gradually  they   settle  down   into  the   dady   gnnd 
Sheved  and  rewarded  now  and  then,  if  the  results  of 
their  efforts  justify     .eh  acknowledgment 

To  the  salesma..  who  does  not  admit  to  hxmself 
that  his  daily  work  i«  a  grind,  ^^^^^^ 
and  sets  his  face  resolutely  toward  the  finish,  ne^er 
looking  back,  belong  the  rich  pnzes. 

The  other  class,  men  who  have  no  set  purpose 

in  life  at  all,  plod  along  bravely  enough  and  without 

Tn  t:i  idea'of  giving  up,  and  likewise  withoiit  any 

reJl  idea  of  where  the  journey  of  business  life  vil 

ead  them.     Without  the  aid  of  busmess  chart  or 

Trnpas.  stopping  along  the  way  at  times,  they  ask 

themselves  if  the  game  ^^^  -1-7^-tLrtohave 
while,  and  if  they  would  not  have  done  better  Jo  have 
:ir;d  so.ne  other  field.    To  each  the  task  that  h 
doing  seems  irksome  and  void  of  results.     That  is 
because  his  interest  is  not  in  his  work. 

[290] 


Getting  an  Interest  in  the  Business 

Some  one  has  said  that  the  greatest  hell  one  can 
suffer  on  earth  is  to  lose  interest  in  life. 

Losing  interest  in  business,  looking  back  from 
the  plough,  means,  first,  decay,  then  stagnation, 
and    finally   retrogression  —  the    beginning  of   the 

end. 

Worth  while  or  not  is  n't  the  question.  We  can- 
not run  away  from  our  allotted  task  in  life  whether 
we  think  it  is  worth  while  or  not.  The  only  men 
who  have  tried  it  successfully  are  professional  hoboes; 
and  salesmen  who  have  endeavored  to  improve  their 
•  ondition  and  relieve  their  minds  on  the  subject  by 
constantly  changing  about  in  a  vain  attempt  to  locate 
the  star  of  business  success  eventually  become  sales- 
men hoboes. 

The  best  thing  for  us  all  to  do  is  to  look  at  the 
bright  side  of  things  where  Ave  are. 

Tliere  are  two  ways  to  contemplate  our  ivork. 
It  is  neither  bright  nor  black  but  as  the  eyes  of  the 
onlooker  make  it  so. 

Men  who  sell  things  are  <livided  into  two  classes 
—  those  who  regard  their  work  with  rebellious  eyes 
that  do  not  understand,  and  those  who  view  their 
v.ork  with  a  mind  that  rises  above  conditions  and 
makes  the  best  of  them. 

When  Lincoln  freed  the  negroes  from  slavery,  a 
great  army  was  necessary.  Every  man  of  that  army, 
of  course,  wanted  and  ho^ed  lo  bo  an  officer;  ever}' 

[  ^yi  ] 


■v:^ 


if 


ii) 


Jim  Who  Sell  Things 
„an  would  have  liked  to  do  the  work  th.t  Lmcoln 

"■"  nTLo  ,hould  be  blamed  for  havjng  high 
•    »•         *«r  wnntine  to  be  more  important,  but 

r/mS:  work  of  which  he  is  capable   because  he 
has  not  been  made  commander-m-chief. 

The  highest  salesman  is  lie  who  does  the  lowlies, 

'"^^elow  that,  important  a.  Lincc^n  was   the 

thousands  of  brave  men  who  "^^J^^^ 

in  the  field  of  battle  were,  as  a  body,  mfimtely  more 

t^rnt      Thev   could   have   done   great   thmgs, 

3:         theJllders,    perhaps,   without   Lincoln. 

Unll  could  have  done  nothing  without  them^ 

The  fight  that  Lincoln  and  his  followers  began 
against  thelecessionists  a  little  more  than  forty  ye^rs 
aL  is  the  same  fight  that  the  men  who  sell  things 
Xt  c  ntinuouslylage  against  negative  quahties  m 
Xmanship,  personal  weaknesses,  competition,  and 
whatever  set-backs  may  be  encountered. 

In  the  great  panorama  of  the  business  world  a 
in  tne  gre      y  ^^.^^  ^^j^, 

few  names  stand  out.       v>e  see  ai 
v^Iuals,  great  business  leaders;   but  the  power  t.at 
r'ntS;  L  entire  field  of  business  -^y^an^  - 
.    ought  business  up  to  where  one  feature  alone 
freight  by  rail,  measured  in  ton-miles,  has  increased 
Ir^f  hundred  and  fifty  per  cent  in  twenty  years,  ex 

[  292  1 


fc^ 


Getting  an  Interest  in  the  Bunness 

ceeding  by  fur  the  most  optiiaistic  railroad  presi 
dent's  dreams  —  that  power  is  the  army  of  Men  Who 
Sell  Things. 

In  salesmanship  it  is  essential  that  all  grades 
of  men  be  associated  among  the  beginners.  Time 
only  can  be  depended  upon  in  the  necessary  w-^d- 
ing  process  which  shall  determine  the  successful 
among  the  many.  It  is  the  beginiiv-^r  who  is 
the  mo.st  susceptible  to  the  intiuence  of  bad  ad- 
dce. 

Let  the  young  salesman  who  finds  himself  among 
the  small  worries  of  his  environment  stop  nd  take 
stock  of  himself  and  his  position.  If  in  oegin- 
ning  he  could  feel  that  he  was  choosing  w.sely  the 
field  of  salesmanship,  surely  he  cannot  so  stultify  his 
first  judgment  as  to  weigh  it  against  the  influence  of 
another  beginner  who  may  have  had  less  experience, 
and  who  he  knows  has  far  less  judgment  than  him- 
self. Yet  this  is  the  c.ie  thing  \vhich  all  his  nature 
may  prompt  him  to  do 

One  of  the  espec.ai  weaknesses  of  the  young 
salesman  lies  in  expecting  too  much  of  his  house. 
lit  must  recover  himself  and  get  back  his  sense  of 
pioportion  which  shall  guide  him  sanely  in  his 
expectations.  Then,  ha\nng  it,  he  can  do  no  better 
than  ♦o  be  guided  by  this  new  judgment,  keeping 
his  own  counsel. 

There  is  no  surer  measure  of  a  salesman's  re- 
[  293  ] 


Pf 


1^" 

T. 

t   : 


Men  Who  Sell  Tiling-'' 
^rc^  and  .treogll,  A.,  hi.  abiUly  i«  --  uuU 

to  be  harsh  i ^ '-'-"' °ytJ.X-a  '^- 

hut  U-iviiv  it  in  to  fester  and  poi^^on  hurt, 
still  more;  but  ItaMiv  ,      fore  en 

„,,,t  of  all.     The  pain  ^^ ^^^^V^^^^,^  ^. 
substanec  is  beln,  renunxcl   but  that  .he  . 

that  health  an.l  life  <an  be  msured.     The 

the  wound  cjuiekly  hc^  .alesmanshin 

The  whole  problem  ot  ne{,a 
1     V«  to  n.e  like  the  manner  m  which  the  tanner 
looks  to  n.c   1  Kt  ^^^^  ^^^^j.^^^, 

killed  a  nei^dibors  doj;      H^e  .    j^. 

down  the  roadway,  wlusthng  a  "  -^^"-^         ^^^  ^, 

^^"^^:i:::nS«S^^^^ 

r  r=a  teeth  .howin...^^ 

J  c  v,t      TVip  fanner  look  down  ui»  »" 

The   neighbor,  commg   ''7. ''  j-^"'..  -^j,    ,.„ , 
and    seeing   Us   dug   dead    «clauu„.,       O.,.  5 

[  294  ] 


.  wmm^^im'i^iji.m^.' 


Getting  an  Interest  in  the  Business 

have  killed  ray  dog!     Why  didn't  you  take  the 
other  end  of  the  fork  to  him  ?" 

The  fanner  calm  y  replied :  "  If  your  dog  had 
come  at  me  with  the  other  end,  I  would."  And  he 
went  on  his  way. 

Hundreds  of  men  who  are  selling  things  now 
will  some  day  doubtless  be  employing  salesmen 
tliemselvcs.  You  can  see  it  oy  studying  their  faces, 
their  actions,  the  quiet,  determined,  resolute  manner 
of  the  one  who  is  sure  that  one  day  ho  ^vill  have  an 
interest  in  the  business  in  which  he  is  now  em- 
ployed, or  be  in  business  for  himself,  and  make  a 
success  c".  it. 

Business  \i  a  great  battle-field,  aiid  there  are, 
rojf  ly  speaking,  several  million  men  who  sell 
th'CfeS,  surging  backward  and  forward  over  its  sur- 
face, fighting  for  success.  Each  has  a  separate 
little  battle  of  his  own. 

One  side  of  the  business  battle-field  is  black, 
while  one  side  is  bright.  May  the  readers  of  this 
little  book  try  to  look  always  upon  the  bright  side, 
patient  in  their  hard  work,  without  losing  ambition. 
And  may  many  of  them  change  their  present  position 
in  the  ranks  for  a  liigher  and  more  responsible  one  in 
the  officers'  quarters  that  will  give  them  a  chance  to 
do  more  and  better  work. 

Work  is  all  there  is  in  a  man. 


[295] 


.•S^i 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE  EMPLOYER 

Hopes  mid  ambitiona  encouraged,  make  ths 
energy  of  an   employee. 

To  thine  own  self  be  true, 
And  it  mu.it  jollow,  as  the  night  the  day. 
Thou  canfif  not  then  be  false  to  any  man. 

Shakespeare's  "  Hamlet.  " 

AN  employer's  worth   to  himself  depends,  not 
so  much  on  what  he  alone  can  do,  but  on  how 
well  and  how  much  he  can  get  his  employees    o  do. 
In  some  degree  every  man  is  an  employer  of 
others.     We  are  all  interdependent.    The  greatest 
of  us  needs  the  least  of  us. 

You  to  wh-m  this  chapter  is  directed  are  the 
employer  who  gives  fixed  returns  in  the  way  of  wages 
to  certain  persons  for  agreed  service.  You  select 
the  persons  and  direct  them  in  the  service  performed. 
You  are  the  head  of  thi  house,  the  guiding  genius 
of  its  destinies,  and  the  one  above  all  others  on  whom 
depends  its  progress,  its  achievements,  its  success. 
As  the  head  of  a  business  large  enough  to  make 
you  a  direct  employer  you  have  wider  and  more  far- 
reaching  responsibilities  than  you  had  as  a  salesman 
working  under  the  direction  of  others.  Your  finan- 
cial responsibilities  have  increased,  your  cares  in  a 

[  296  ] 


W'^ 


'i-j»; 


M msf 


The  ETtiployer 

business  way  are  multiplied,  your  position  in  the  com 
munity  calls  on  you  for  graver  things,  and  your  re- 
lation to  the  State  has  assuracfl  a  wider  importance. 
It  is  not  of  these  things,  however,  that  I  am  going  to 
write  at  length  —  I  want  to  have  a  little  heart-to- 
heart  talk  with  you  ahout  your  relation  to  those 
persons  who  are  called  your  employees. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  if  you  could  do  all 
the  work  yourself  you  would  have  no  employees; 
you  would  not  need  them.  But  you  have  others  to 
assist  you  because  you  cannot  perform  all  of  the 
work  necessarj'  to  your  business.  You  hire  others 
to  help  you  with     r  n  Work. 

If  you  have  sal'  men  and  buyers,  office  men 
and  stock  men,  and  porters  and  scrubwomen,  it  is 
because  you  cannot  do  all  that  they  are  doing.  You 
have  not  enough  eyes  and  ears  and  hands  and  feet 
and  bodies  to  do  it.  You  may  have  a  hundred  em- 
ployees, and  if  you  are  a  goorl  business  man  it  is 
because  you  need  every  one  of  them. 

If  there  are  any  in  your  employ  you  do  not  need, 
you  owe  it  to  yourself  and  the  olh^-  employees  to 
let  them  go.  The  very  essence  of  business  demands 
the  lopping  off  of  needless  expense  of  every  sort 

An  einployee  on  the  premises  who  is  not  needed 
is  an  injustice  lo  every  one  who  is  depending  on  your 
business  for  a  livelihood.  He  is  not  only  jv  sin  against 
the  profits,  but  he  is  an  impediment  to  all.     When 

[297  j 


t 


«  ^,:/JmJi. 


W 


K'l 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 
your  wagon  has  four  good  wheels  you  do  not  put 
L  another.    On  the  other  hand    vou  woud^^^^^^ 
send  a  wagon  out  with  a  load  .f  one  wheel  were 

""''■'The  pay-roll  should  show  no  waste  of  profits. 

It  is  no  less  important  and  perhaps  more  urgent 
that  it  should  not  be  a  barri.r  to  the  incommg  of 

^""'^The  pay-roll  cannot  he  too  large  if  it  .s  just  to 

\\\v  business. 

It  should  contain  the  name  of  every  person 
needed  for  the  proper  conduct  and  development  of 

thi  business.  ,     ,      .         . 

If  it  will  enhance  the  profits  of  the  ^^f^}^ 
add  ten  more  names  on  the  pay-roll,  do  not  ha  t  w,th 
onW  nine  names.  Put  on  the  whole  ten  .f  your 
working  capital  will  carry  them. 

The  real,  the  fundamental,  reason  why  you  are 
in  business  is  to  make  profit  -that  is  also  the  rea- 
son why  you  have  employees. 

Ever,  employee  should  contribute,  d.rectlv  or 
indirectly,  to  the  profits  of  business.  If  you  are  a 
good  business  man  they  do. 

Therefore  ever>'  one  of  your  employees,  down 
to  the  scrubwoman,  helps  to  put  profits  m  your  t.U^ 
Everv  one  of  them  is  your  benefactor.  Thej  are 
maintaining  your  business,  they  are  developmg  .t, 
the^  are  doing  Your  VVokk. 

[298] 


i 


•r 
a 

n 
11. 
re 
it. 


The  Employer 

The  reason  why  I  repeat  that  they  v  doing 
your  work  is  bcraiwe,  first  of  all  it  is  a  truth  in  fact, 
and  founded  on  the  philosophy  of  eternal  justice, 
and  secondly,  bjx-ause  you  are  liable  to  forget  that  it 
is  an  ever-present  truth. 

But  why  an\  I  arguing  this  with  you,  you 
may  ask.  You  are  running  your  business,  and  con- 
ducting it  in  the  light  of  your  own  good  judgment, 
and  it  is  a  going  business,  making  good  profits. 

Very  well.  If  that  be  true,  it  is  morally  certain 
that  you  do  not  need  to  be  told  this,  for  the  reason 
that  you  are  already  guided  by  it. 

If  your  business  is  as  successful  as  that,  it  is  be- 
cause it  is  founded  on  justice,  on  right  and  honesty. 
And  justice  in  business  begins  at  the  beginning,  and 
your  relations  to  your  employees  come  first. 

A  man  who  is  dishonest  with  his  employees  is 
false  to  himself,  and  will  not  be  honest  with  his  cus- 
tomers. 

Good  ..  will  not  grow  from  rotten  seed. 
You  are  reading  this  perhaps  merely  to  see 
what  further.  You  may  ask,  "  What  are  you  getting 
at  ?  I  pay  my  employees  promptly  the  agreed  wages 
for  services  performed  under  agreed  conditions, 
what  else  is  there  to  be  taken  into  consideration  ?  " 
This  may  recall  the  good  old  story  of  the  :  ew 
salesman  who  struck  his  first  town,  which  happened 
to  be  in  Missouri.     He  approached  the  hotel  register 

[  299  ] 


I; 


01^%^ 


'W 


Men  IKAo  SeU  Thi..^t 

'::  ,h?pcn  and  entered  «-e  number  onhen^m 
opposite  the  ..».ne,  ^»<i  t"™ed  .  un  to  the  peru».l 
of  a  newspaper  wUhout  saying  a  .-onl^ 

"  You  noticed  my  name  ?      saia  iw       \^ 

^''"Yes."  the  host  answered  without  looking  up 

from  his  paper.  ^, 

"You  see  where  I  am  from  1* 

.'Yes  "  said  the  same  slow  voice  commg  from 

r  ;„k  ;  «":  U  order,  to  the  tired-looking 
:;rArter.  and  after  a  while  returned  to  the  con- 
quest  of  the  hotel-keeper. 

^      "You  don't  seem  to  be  very  anx.ous  to  have 
guests  here."  he  said  tartly  to  the  patient  man  be- 

hind  the  newspaper.  .,,     ,.      ..„»  Didn't  I 

••  I  don  -t,  eh  ?  "  he  said,  looking  up.    Did  n  t  1 

eive  you  a  room  ? " 

^      '  [  300 1 


The  Employer 

"  Of  course  you  gave  me  a  room,  but  is  that  all 
>iu  do  when  a  guest  anives  ?  l)«m't  you  giv«'  him 
any  attf'titioi*?" 

"What  <lo  you  expett,  youn«  num.  —  «lo  you 
expect  me  to  kis    you  r " 

Wages  are  not  all  the  employee  is  entilled  to. 
He  is  entitled  to  respe  ful  consideration,  that  his 
manhood  be  not  iuipinged.  He  is  entitled  to  sym- 
pathetic direction,  that  he  may  develop  into  greater 
usefulness,  just  as  his  labor  is  for  the  development  of 
vour  'lusiness.  He  is  entitled  to  charitable  treat- 
ment when  he  commits  an  error.  He  is  entitled  to 
kindly  recognition  of  labor  well  performed. 

In  a  word,  your  employee  is  entitled  to  justice. 
That  comprehends  the  honesty  of  which  I  speak,  and 
all  things  to  which  he  is  entitled.  And  it  exacts 
from  the  employee  the  best  that  is  in  him  for  the 
welfare  of  your  business.     It   is  not   a  one-sided 

thing. 

You  are  the  superior;  you  are  the  beginning  of 
all  that  pertains  to  your  house  —  you  are  the  head 
and  source.  You  select  the  employees,  either  di- 
rectly or  through  one  whom  you  have  to  represent 
you,  and  in  the  same  way  you  give  them  direction  in 
their  work.  The  farmer  calls  his  employee  a  "  hand." 
That  pretty  nearly  describes  him.  He  is  a  multi- 
plication or  extension  of  your  hand.  And  like  your 
hand,  he  docs  that  which  your  mind  wills. 

[301] 


hi] 


■^, 


1 


m^_  ^,mm:- 


m 


r 


In 


V 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 
At  the  beginning  of  his  employment  with  you 
he  must  be  told  when  and  where  to  work,  and  what 
to  do  and  How  You  Want  It  Done 

You  must  know  what  you  want  done,  and  con- 
vince the  employee  that  you  <lo  know. 

You  must  know  when  a  task  is  well  performed, 
so  that  the  employee  may  feel  that  he  is  workmg  for 
a   competent   employer  -  one   who   -  fapable   o 
apprec-Iating    good     ser^•ice.     Appreciation    bnng. 
out  what  good  there  is  m  a  man. 

You  are  selling  your  brains  and  your  capital 
through  your  employees.     Your  interest   requires 
therefore;  that  you  should  bring  your  employees  to 
the  highest  possible  state  of  efficiency. 

Make  your  employee,  no  matter  what  his 
position,  feel  that  he  is  a  part  of  the  concern  - 
a  living,  vital  human  force  in  its  make-up. 
Ibove  ail.  make  him  feel  that  he  is  working  for 
an    hone.st    employer    who    appreciates  an   honest 

'""^  Work  is  all  you  can  get  out  of  an  employee,  but 
remember  that  the  quality  of  the  work  is  of  first 

^"TpTased  employee  does  better  work  than  a 
''^'^'^^uTsh  between  the  pleased  employee  and 
^^^^^^^inir^pleased  in  his  work  is  diligent 

[302] 


li 


I'^mM^m 


The  Employer 

and  faithful,  and  he  is  Trying  to  Please  His 
Employer. 

The  satisfied  employee  is  the  one  who  merely 
wants  to  earn  his  wages  and  let  it  go  at  that. 

The  disgruntled  employee  is  likely  to  feel  like 
returning  the  least  possible  service  for  his  wages. 
He  feels  that  you  have  wronged  him,  and  he  is  only 
human  in  secretly  resenting  it. 

The  heedless  employee  is  one  who  feels  that 
he  is  overlooked;  that  his  services  and  ability  are 
not  appreciated.  He  is  simply  drawing  wages  from 
you  as  easily  as  he  can  until  he  finds  a  place  else- 
where. 

The  stupid  enij)loyee  should  never  have  got 
into  your  service.     You  shouhl  have  detected  him 

at  sight. 

Any  employee  may  make  a  mistake.     You  do. 

All  of  your  employees  should  be  plea.sed  em- 
ployees.   If  they  are  not,  it  is  your  fault. 

They  were  at  the  beginning,  or  they  would  n  't 
have  come  to  you  or  you  would  n't  have  accep' >d 
them  when  they  came. 

If  they  arc  not  now,  ask  yourself  why,  and  find 
out.  It  is  your  duty  to  find  out.  Then  it  is  your 
duty  to  apply  the  remedy. 

You  may  be  astonished  to  find  out  how  many 
of  them  needed  only  a  kind  word,  a  look  of  appre- 
ciation, or  i\  smile. 

[  303  ] 


i^mmm^;^--  -^-^-ly^-     :i' 


■  ''vj' 


1^' 


m 


If''*'  ■ 
fj '  ■  ■  -. 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 
It  takes  some  effort  for  a  business  ^ja^  ^^  ^^ 
a  smile  for  all  of  his  employees,  perhaps,  but  it  takes 
rlrt  to  apply  anyremedytoafaulUny^^^^^^^^^ 
i„g  force.     A  smile  may  save  you  the  ^^^^^  ^ 

Xlt  easier  for  you  to  give  him  .he  ra,se  sooner 
than  he  really  expected  It. 

Study   your  employees.     You  cannot   under 
aiuuj    J  r  Tfi  vou  do  not  under- 

Qtnnd  them  unless  you  uo.     It  >ou  ao 

:1  .hem  you  cannot  expect  -  f  .he  -    -m 
service  out  of  them.    You  would  n .  undertake 
„„  an  automobile  unless  you  ""der.  °od  ,t^ 

Every  one  of  your  employees  d.fier.  f™"" J'^^ 
other  one.     Eaeh  is  a  separate  problem  that  you 
:^ld  master  in  so  far  as  your  business  demands  .t^ 
Jones  may  be  disgruntled      He  was  a  g<^ 
emolovee.    Smith  who  works  alongside  of  h.m  got 
a  Imotion.     Jones  may  know  that  it  was  he  who 
deln^d  it  instead  of  Smith.    I' ^e     d  d^erve  . 
and  .lid  n't  get  it.  you  an-  at  tault   >I' .E^P"^';; 
You  have  injured  your  business  m  two  places      by 
pu  ting  the  iLs  competent  in  the  higher  olace.  and 
Lre4  getting  '^ss  value  out  of  the  F  -^^  J^^ 
other  niurv  .o  your  business  was  m  dorag  Jones  an 
^X.  and  thereby  disgruntling  him  and  lessen- 
ina  liis  value  to  yjur  busmess. 
*   If  vou  were  honest  with  your  employees  you 
[304] 


I 


The  Employer 

would  have  known  that  Jones  was  the  one  entitled 
to  promotion,  and  would  have  given  it  to  him. 

Smith  would  not  feel  disgruntled,  because  work- 
ing alongside  of  Jones  he  would  kni  w  that  Jones 
was  the  more  deserving  and  entitled  to  it.  He 
would  .see  the  justice  of  it,  and  be  inspired  to  deserve 
in  the  future 

Brown  was  heedless.  He  came  to  you  with 
high  hopes  and  a  heart  full  of  ambition  He  workc-il 
diligently  and  carefully.  At  times  he  let  himself 
out,  and  did  more  than  could  have  been  expected  of 
him.  He  did  it  out  of  his  natural  ambition  to  pro- 
gress. When  it  was  done  he  looked  for  the  sign  of 
appreciation,  but  it  came  not.  Again  and  agaii^.  he 
sought  to  win  that  sign.  All  he  received  was  a  stony 
.stare,  cold  and  hard.  It  chilled  his  ardor,  and  he 
found  himself  crying  in  his  heart,  "  What  's  the 
use?" 

If  you  understood  Brown,  you  would  have  said, 
'Well  done,  Mr.  Brown,"  and  you  would  have 
shown  by  your  looks  that  you  meant  it.  And  some 
day  Brown  might  be  the  man  who  would  step  into 
the  gap  in  the  firm  and  give  it  th  new  blood  it 
needed.  But  you  did  n't,  and  what  of  Brown ';  It 
was  only  a  question  of  time  then  till  he  drifted  out 
of  your  employ  and  became  a  floater. 

Who  took  his  place  r  W^ell,  if  you  did  n't  take 
enough  interest  in  Brown  to  direct  and  lead  him 

[  80.>  1 


'!•' 


""^If 


k.mn^ 


lii 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 
Into  usefulness,  it  was  only  natural  that  you  hired 
a  floater  to  take  his  place.     And  what  will  he  be  ? 
He  is  a  derelict,  cast  adrift  by  some  other  care- 
less employer.     Brown    has    floated    into  his  old 

place. 

You  and  your  competitor  have  changed  em- 
ployees, and  to  what  end  ?  Each  of  you  has  a  floater 
instead  of  an  employee  who  needed  only  a  kindly 
touch  on  the  right  spot  to  make  him  a  pleased  em- 
ployee. Once  Brown  was  a  pleased  employee. 
That  was  before  he  became  heedless.  But  the 
memory  of  that  time  was  still  in  him,  needing  only 
to  be  awakened.     Supposing  you  had  called  Brown 

in  and  said  to  him: 

"  I  am  sorry  to  see,  Mr.  Brown,  that  you  are 
not  working  up  to  your  old  standard.  I  had  hopes 
of  seeing  you  continue  in  your  ambitions  to  get 
ahead.  I  think  there  is  good  metal  in  you,  and  I 
want  you  to  prove  to  me  that  there  is,  and  that  you 
can  win  promotion." 

Now,  don't  you  honestly  think  Brown  would 
have  regained  his  old  stride  and  given  you  better 
service  than  the  floater  you  took  in  hia  place  —  a 
floater  whose  ambition  wa«  killed  before  he  came 

to  you  ? 

But  you  let  Brown  go  with  a  brand  on  him, 

because  you  did  n't  understand  him. 

There  is  a  question  M  aiorals  in  this,  and  good 

[306  ] 


V"' 


r"^  "^'..■^i  1 


The  Employer 

morals  are  good  business.  Think  it  over  and  see 
how  far  it  reaches. 

If  you  lose  a  good  employee  you  have  hurt  your 
business  —  no  matter  how  you  lose  him.  If  it  is  a 
hurt,  how  far  does  it  go.^  You  may  not  be  abU*  to 
estimate  it  in  the  loss  of  profits,  but  it  is  ihere.  You 
may  not  know  just  how  much  it  has  impaired  the 
corps  spirit  of  your  force,  but  it  has  done  so.  You 
may  never  be  able  to  tell  in  how  far  it  weakened  the 
loyalty  of  some  of  the  other  employees. 

Your  house  is  a  mill  in  which  business  men  are 
made  —  ever  think  of  that .'' 

An  injustice  to  one  employee  is  an  injury  to  all. 

Your  employees  are  your  army,  and  you  are  its 
captain.  It  is  told  of  an  army  captain  who  was 
killed  in  action,  that  he  was  shot  in  the  back  while 
leading  his  men  in  a  charge.  Do  you  think  if  he 
had  understood  his  men  he  would  have  failed  to 
draw  the  hate  out  of  their  hearts  ? 

You  know  the  marvellous  story  of  Sheridan  at 
Winchester  —  how  he  rallied  his  routed  men  and 
led  them  back  to  the  same  field  in  victory.  Could 
he  have  done  that  unless  he  understood  his  men  ? 
Understanding  tliem,  he  gained  their  confidence 
that  a  pursuing  enemy  could  not  shake,  much  less 
destroy. 

An  array  must  have  organization,  no  matter 
what  its  purpose  —  whether  it  bo  in  the  service  of 

[307] 


:^V"i , ', 


w^ 


Men  Who  Sell  Things 
war  or  peai  c<,  in  the  destroying  field  of  slaughter, 
or  the  greater,  the  useful  field  of  commene.  Or- 
gani/ation  in  effected  by  selecting  and  fitting  men  to 
the  s<>rviee  recjuired  —  each  man  to  his  proper  place. 
To  put  a  man  in  his  proper  place,  you  must  under- 
stand both  —  tlie  place  and  the  man. 

Discipline  follows  —  in  a  commercial  institu- 
tion order  is  a  better  word.  Everjthing  should  be 
in  order.  Goods,  materials,  tools,  machinery  — 
all  should  be  in  that  orderly  arrangement  that  saves 
waste  of  time  and  energy.  And  ever\-  man  should 
be  in  his  proper  place. 

Wasted  efi'ort,  wasted  time,  and  wasted  material 
are  responsible  for  more  failun>s  than  the  records 

show. 

Habits  of  good  order  will  teach  employees  to 
improve  the  conditions  under  which  they  work,  and 
that  means  an  improvement  in  their  output. 

A  wise  employer  will  not  overload  his  employees 
—  he  wouldn't  overload  a  horse.  When  he  does 
overload  his  employees  he  teaches  them  to  shirk 
when  his  back  is  turned. 

Simplify  things.  The  successful  employer  is 
not  one  who  impedes  his  employees  with  needless 
form  and  tedious  methods  and  delays  things  with 
red  tape.  His  methods  are  direct  and  straight  to 
the  point.  Tliey  cover  the  essentials,  and  the  non- 
essentials are  thrown  in  the  waste  basket. 

[308] 


The  Employer 

The  good  employer  is  a  good  example  to  his 
employees.  In  him  they  see  honesty,  fair  deaHng, 
and  justice.  He  is  their  inspiration,  their  encourage- 
ment, and  their  hope. 

The  good  employer  is  careful,  exact,  and  firm. 
He  inculcates  in  his  employees  habits  of  order  and 
respect. 

The  good  employer  knows  his  goods,  his 
materials,  his  tools,  and  his  premises.  He  teaches 
his  employees  economy  and  accuracy. 

The  good  employer  has  that  spark  of  human 
love  in  him  that  yields  kindness  and  sympathy.  He 
wins  the  good  will  of  his  employees,  he  earns  their 
loyalty,  and  he  kindles  in  them  the  fire  of  ambition. 

"  He  lures  to  brighter  worlds  and  leads  the  way.  " 


THE  END 


Some  Pre.«v*  Opinions  on  "Men  Who  PeixThinob' 


CHICAGO  DAILY  NEWS 

"It  i.  refr^hin,  to  re..l  a  book  like  Walter  D.  Moo.lv-,  '««"  Who 
Sell  Things'  (or  more  rea^ins  than  one.  It  reflect-  the  .pint  of  tho^ 
^;„_h^e  calle.1  commercial  amb.«a.lor,  -  who  have  done  pretty 
Nearly  all  that  ha-  been  .lone  to  make  America  v  eat  .ommerc.ally  at 
horn  an.l  abroad;  it  brin^  the  whole  b.,dy  «(  th«e  m.,.lern  kn  «ht, 
of  the  road  into  the  c«te«ory  of  book  readers.  Here  they  h,ue  a 
chance  to  learn  .K,methin«  about  the  principle,  and  -  h.so.ou.  word  - 
^ycholoBy  ..'  .ale«man.hip.  written  by  a  man  who  has  s..ld  tung,  for 
rcrr^!^aa.f  wo.ked.  him«>U.  in  every  branch  of  the  serv.ce  ""f  '--- 
fng  yiars  and  experience  have  brought  princ.ple,  out  .f  pra.t,ce.  and 
«Mbl«d  him  to  point  out  the  rules  by  which  things  are  done. 
PHILADELPHIA  RECORD 
•'  This  book  has  no  rival  to  Uiis  held." 

ATLANTA  CONSTITUTION 
"Mr  Moody  analyzes  the  technique  of  his  profession  with  the 
«reci!Ln  t Im  ^  born  of  knowledfie.  He  .h.,«s  th.  weak  ,K.mt.,  which 
thr  aesman  may  be  ex,«..te.l  to  develop.  He  .UR«e«  s  way-,  to 
t^^Z^  w^k  point.  He  nam^  the  .uaUtie,  wh.<^-  |;^ 
pensable  to  success  in  any  bran<-h  ..f  salesmanship.  And  he  indicate. 
^w  these  qualities  may  be  cultivate.1.  if  they  do  not  already  exu.t. 

TROY  REC  <RD 

"It  is  inspirational  as  well   as  clucational.     It  fires  a  man  to  g<> 

To^histrnti^  gtds.'rndhimsTlf ,  should  take  this  b.K..  as  a  text-book^ 
Besides  th;  enthusi.,m  it  will  give  him  it  will  warn  h.m  of  many  p.tfalls 
and  point  to  the  pro|.er  path  to  success." 

DETROIT   FREE   PRESS 
"These  breery  pa^es  are  well  calculated  to  hearten  the  discouraged 
and  set  a  faster  pace  for  the  diligent." 

Ch.rle.   Edmund   Barker  in  THE   SAMPLE  CASE 
"Mr    Moody  has  written  the  most  valuable  book  yet  issued  for  the 
p.  Jfai  ideL  of  --^n^-P.  -:-^  rVltt  ^^h^  hTy:! 
r^^hU  ^r=:-:i^=-- Whole  frate^t.^^ 
able,  conscientious  salesman  U  a  student  to  the  en.    of  his  career. 
A.  C.  McCLURG  &  CO..  Publishkrs 
CHICAQO 


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